A Very Goodwitch
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Glynda Goodwitch finds a little girl abandoned during a hunt, and is guilt tripped into adopting her by Ozpin during her job interview at Beacon. Now Grace Goodwitch is going to take Remnant by storm as a Huntress who doesn't use Semblance. However, she's not the first witch to be dropped in Remnant while near death. Can Grace find a way to balance magic and aura? Fem HP
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry about the delay in updates folks! Stupid computer wouldn't read my hard drive... So without further ado...MASS UPDATES!**

* * *

It was supposed to be an ordinary mission. Go in, kill some random beowolf, and return back to Vale.

Except it wasn't ordinary. Not in the least.

Glynda Goodwitch looked dumbly at the child left in the middle of a known Grimm hotspot. How it survived long enough to be rescued while deep in territory known for having some of the most vicious Grimm in existence was baffling, but she couldn't in good conscience leave the child here.

She bundled up the toddler (a girl, she dimly registered) and prepared to make the long trek back. She couldn't afford to buy another ticket and there was no way she could leave the girl in an orphanage. Her application at Beacon as the assistant headmaster/aide to Ozpin was on a time-limited deadline. Any delay could be fatal to her plans of semi-retirement as an active hunter.

Ozpin barely registered the child, and to her relief the interview was short, simple and easy to deal with, considering her frazzled nerves.

She nearly had a heart attack when he finally did bring up the kid.

"So, about the child sleeping in the chair."

She flinched.

"I found her in Grimm infested territory with nothing but some ill-fitting clothes and a very dirty diaper. It looked like it hadn't been changed in hours, and something looked like it was keeping the Grimm at bay. Her aura is still locked, so I don't think it was her doing."

Being given a crash course on changing a diaper from a helpful member of the airship crew she was on was not what she had in mind after this mission. The fact they even had the right size also didn't help her poor nerves.

At least they had been very understanding when she explained _why_ she had a small child in such dangerous territory...

"Hmm. Are you doing that or is she doing it?"

Glynda blinked, before turning to see...several objects floating around the child with nothing to hold them up.

"What..."

"So it's not you. It seems we have a very intriguing mystery on our hands."

Glynda felt nothing but stabs of potential guilt as Ozpin drove home what could happen if a child like this one was simply left in one of the nicer orphanages. The second someone heard about things floating, even with her aura still locked...

The implications were disastrous. And she had no idea how she was to raise a child.

Fortunately there was a clause in the Beacon charter that would allow her to raise a child with no one doing more than raising a few eyebrows. She could claim the girl as her daughter, and it would allow her to enter Beacon as a potential huntress.

Of course for the moment that a bit premature. The girl couldn't apply into any of the schools around Vale until she was ten, and she couldn't be more than two at the most.

So she would learn about the Grimm and how to be a Huntress before she was sent to Signal for a time before returning.

At least that was the plan.

"What is her name then?" asked Ozpin.

Glynda looked at him wide-eyed.

She had gone from a prospective job to motherhood in the span of a few days. And now she had to name it...her.

It took her a few moments before Glynda said the first name that came to mind.

"Grace. Grace Goodwitch."

"Welcome to Vale, Grace," said Ozpin.

The newly named Grace gurgled, putting her thumb in her mouth while look at them past matted reddish hair that shined gold in the sunlight and green eyes not too dissimilar to her new mother's.

* * *

Glynda got her first taste of motherly rage when she had the school infirmary check over her new daughter.

The girl had been severely neglected, more than just leaving a dirty diaper on or letting her wear ill-fitting clothes. There was signs of being hit with a _human_ hand, she was suffering from a relatively mild case of malnutrition...enough that her age was in fact three, not the two as she had assumed, and she flinched at raised voices from the adults.

The only one she would allow to even hug her was Glynda. It was as though some form of trust had been established between them.

Because of how she was found, Glynda found herself with a brand new pair of papers declaring to the world her recent ascension to mother of a little girl. No one questioned her about her sudden adoption, not when they learned she had been found in Grimm territory. Just as no one bothered to ask where her parents were.

If they were willing to abuse a child like that and dump them in an area where they were almost certain to be killed, then they were either dead or might as well be in the eyes of the governments.

Thank Oum Grace was a relatively calm and quiet girl. She was content to watch the child-friendly stories in between classes, as she was too young to socialize with the in-training Hunters.

The few times she went with her mother to the cafeteria, she was almost immediately swamped by the huntresses-in-training, who promptly declared her to be absolutely adorable.

Glynda latched onto a potential source of free daycare for a pass on any test or assignment barring the important ones. Ozpin and the other professors found it amusing, but didn't say anything. The fact she was a new teacher/aide to the Headmaster and balancing motherhood on top of it was a bit hard even for the best multi-tasker.

* * *

 _Six years later..._

Glynda almost felt an overprotective urge towards Grace as she handled the weapons.

Never mind that most huntresses learned their weapon preference early on, or at least the ones they didn't want to use. It had been terrifying unlocking Grace's Aura.

The ominous black ooze that felt far too much like the stronger Grimm that had erupted that day had sent most of the senior Hunters and Huntresses in the area scrambling to see what had broken out of the training grounds.

The odd scar on her child's forehead had faded until it was almost a distant memory, but Glynda had been wary of introducing huntress training after that.

Grace passed over the training swords, the rifles, and several of the bladed weapons.

It was when she picked up a bow and went to aim an arrow that Glynda felt some relief.

Grace was a natural at aim. She hit an apple one of the younger huntresses was tossing to her friend with the blunted arrow without any training at all.

While they still hadn't figured out what her Semblance could actually do, conjuration was one of the things that fell within it's range.

Conjuring random items (up to and including a copy of Ozpin's favorite mug) was well within the range of her Semblance, even if they haven't pinned down exactly what it was just yet.

Because it was so volatile, Grace had taken to training more with her weapons, Dust, and glyphs rather than fall back on her Semblance as most would have.

Though even Dust sometimes reacted oddly around her. Like the time she somehow managed to use fire Dust to make a pond freeze. Or the time she used a combination of wind and water to cause burns.

Glynda had given up trying to figure that one out.

"I still like the idea of a sword or a whip," said Grace.

"When you make your weapon, you can figure out a way to incorporate them. Until then you can practice with the older students."

"When can I go to Signal?"

"When you're ten, and not a day sooner," said her mother flatly.

Grace was eager to do more than just study from the old books. She wanted friends her own age, to practice with other students.

The other students at Beacon were nice, but they didn't really connect with her. Even someone her age knew they were just babysitting for the pass.

Grace had a rather large amount of allowance. She had been saving up for years, so she had enough to get whatever materials she needed. And she had an army of experienced hunters and huntresses who could help her create whatever weapon she could think of.

Grace grinned. She couldn't wait to get to work.

* * *

Ozpin had a small...problem. As the headmaster of Beacon, he had to attend the Vale council. The issue was that it was exam time for all the students, and he had been delegated Grace's minder for the next several hours while Glynda oversaw the exams. He had offered to watch the girl since she was usually quiet and reading which meant he could work on his paperwork.

He sighed, before the only actual option hit him like a brick.

"Say Grace, how would you like to see how the Vale council works?" asked Ozpin, already writing up a quick text to Glynda.

It was a bit of a surprise to many students, but Glynda was quite the loving mother, even if she was strict with her students. She expected nothing but the best, and she was free with her praise when it was warranted. She made a point not to be overly critical, but rather gave small tips so that her students could improve.

Grace perked up. She could still read while Ozpin was in the council, and it was more interesting than being cooped up in the office all day.

That taken care of, she collected her books and followed her uncle to the air ship.

For the most part it was somewhat boring...until they got to one of the more well debated topics that had the White Fang up in arms.

"Alright, now on to old business. The request from the faunus to repeal prop C619. Any suggestions how to keep this from blowing up in our faces?"

Grace perked up. She vaguely knew what it was about, but discreetly texted her uncle for clarification as the pro and anti faunus factions in the council argued. Ozpin was one of the few neutral on the subject.

 _'What's C619 about?'_

 _'It's a holdover from when a rather unpleasant faunus disease was running rampant. It made the infected little more than animals, and the law was made to insure that the people voting weren't under the influence. Naturally we have a vaccine for it now, but the faunus are still required to take blood tests before voting. Which is why the White Fang are demanding that we repeal the law, since only faunus are required to take the test.'_

Grace immediately saw the issue and why it was hard to get an agreement.

 _'Why not instead of repealing the law, make it an inactive one to only be brought back if the disease mutates beyond the current parameters of what the vaccine covers?'_

Ozpin read the text with interest, before deciding to have Grace explain her idea. Sometimes the best solution was to ask a child what they would do.

"Gentlemen, how about we ask the only person in the room who doesn't already have a bias for or against the law?"

Everyone looked at him, before they turned to Grace. Ozpin had explained who she was at the start, and since she was quietly doing her homework they had more or less ignored her.

"Are you sure?"

"It seems to me that a fresh perspective might give a solution everyone can live with," said Ozpin diplomatically.

The adults nodded. It couldn't hurt.

Grace walked up to her uncle.

"Grace, how would you handle the repeal of a law that is only targeting faunus, but not out of prejiduce?"

"C619 is mostly because of a disease that faunus were susceptible to, right?" she asked cautiously, and got an approving nod from Ozpin. "Then instead of repealing the law, change it so that the only time it would be used would be when that disease is currently active to a large enough degree that it would cause an issue. And that it should be verified by independant sources. Diseases do change, after all. And a vaccine can only handle so much before the problem it targets mutates outside what it can handle. This way you appease the faunus faction and make it clear you're not trying to make them jump through hoops to vote."

"It's simple and it appeases both parties. Your tag-along has a good head on her shoulders," said the leader of Vale's military. Grace perked up at the praise.

"Well gentlemen, all in favor of making prop C619 an inactive law unless the disease goes outside what the current vaccine can handle?" asked Ozpin. Enough of the council voted in agreement, as making the law inactive was a lot easier than repealing it.

"Very well, motion carries. We'll announce it once the decision goes into affect," said the speaker.

Ozpin patted Grace on the head.

"That was well done. It was a difficult problem that the adults couldn't solve, but you did it in five minutes."

Grace beamed at him.

"How would you like to learn diplomacy?" asked Ozpin. The way she handled herself during the meeting sparked an idea of what to teach her next, as the only real thing she needed to learn at this point was social interaction.

"Really?"

"It'll be a nice change of pace, and you seem to have a natural knack at it."

* * *

 _One year later_

 _Signal Academy_

Grace eagerly looked around, observing _everything_. This was the first time she was able to have friends her own age. Unlike the other students she already had her weapon.

It's standby form was a collapsed sword, which depending on how she worked the various parts, could turn into a bow, a full length sword, or a long whip. This was due to the fact that the scabbard wasn't just a scabbard.

It was half of the bow.

Her mother still couldn't believe she came up with something as ridiculously complicated as her weapon.

And that was before she got into her Dust bullets.

Depending on what type she used, a different element would be shot out of the bow.*

"Omigosh, omigosh!" squealed a girl behind her.

"Hi!" said Grace.

The girl turned to face the one who spoke. She was about her age, possibly a year younger. She had short reddish black hair and silver eyes. She wore a black cape with a deep red color on the underside, and a black corset over a red and black skirt with a rose pattern.

It was also immediately apparent the girl was rather shy.

"I'm Grace. Grace Goodwitch. What's your name?"

"Um... I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."

Grace looked a bit closer, before her face brightened.

"Are you related to the huntress Summer Rose?"

"She's my mom."

"She is like one of my top five favorite huntresses! Well up next to my mom anyway," said Grace.

Ruby brightened. Her shyness was starting to chip away around Grace. Then she noticed the girl's weapon.

"What sort of weapon is that?"

"I call it Storm's Embrace! It can turn into a whip, a bow and a sword!" said Grace proudly.

And hadn't that been a nightmare to pull off. Eventually she got frustrated enough because the whip part of the weapon refused to retract as it should and just pushed her Semblance into the weapon before it was properly finished.

Storm's Embrace had glowed so brightly she had been afraid she would melt all her hard work...but then there was a loud click and the whip rolled back into sword form. More than that, the other half of the bow finally started attaching properly to the bottom of the hilt and shifting into sniper mode properly.

Her mother had been exasperated with the ridiculously complicated weapon, but had gotten permission from Signal for her to practice with it, since most of her classmates would be making their own weapons when they were third years.

Considering she had been practically raised in Beacon her entire life, the teachers were rather understanding of the matter. She was mostly going to Signal to socialize with others her age and to learn how to work with them before returning to Beacon and getting her license. Her application was already accepted when she was ready to come 'home'.

The fact her mother was surprisingly overprotective of her was a bit of a side joke among the faculty.

Ruby and Grace formed a quick friendship...mostly because Grace was more than happy to act as the ice breaker for Ruby to make other friends. She also clicked rather easily with Ruby's older sister Yang, who was three years older than Ruby.

"So your mom teaches at Beacon?" said Ruby. She was happy to find that she was now the official roommate of Grace Goodwitch.

"Yeah, she found me years ago in Grimm-infested territory and Headmaster Ozpin was nice enough to use a loophole so I could stay with her. You won't believe some of the things that happen at Beacon. I've met a lot of up and coming hunters and huntresses...mostly because mom offered a passing grade if they acted as babysitter since I was too little to be trusted alone. I had to wait so long before I could go to Signal!"

"But the youngest you can attend is nine," said Ruby.

"Mom can be really overprotective. I think she kept me at Beacon because it took me so long to build Storm," said Grace sheepishly. "So what's your favorite song?"

"Oh! I love _Red Like Roses_!"

"Which part?"

"Both of them! So what's your Semblance like?" asked Ruby.

Grace winced.

"I've been banned from using my Semblance in Vale around other hunters unless they're aware of what it does."

Oh had her mother been pissed when Ozpin was forced to make that announcement. It was a complete accident how they found out what her Semblance could do, and when the other countries were informed of it they immediately banned her from using it except in emergencies or when she was hunting solo.

To be fair, she could totally understand why, but it was still a touchy subject with her mother.

Ruby looked confused.

"Why?"

"I have a 'Rogue' Semblance. My ability allows me to copy the Semblance of others to the point I can use it like my own. If I do it enough then I acquire it permanently."

"So what's so bad about that?" asked Ruby.

"Your Semblance is tied to your Aura, your Aura is tied to your very Soul. Copying someone's Semblance is akin to reading their very soul, good and bad. Most wouldn't like it because it means I'd be copying their talents, the thing that makes them special," said Grace, quoting Ozpin when he explained why the other headmasters made that verdict.

The only ones she had copied before then were her mother and Uncle Ozpin. That was how they found out by accident what she could actually do.

She didn't really like using her Semblance much anyway, as it rapidly depleted her Aura. Every time she played a simulation game, she always ended up dead when she overused it.

So she trained herself to use her Semblance as a last resort. It meant she was much more efficient than most of the new recruits.

Ruby's eyes were wide.

"That's so cool!"

"Tell you what... I'll help you with your weapons training if you help me socialize. I've pretty much grown up in Beacon, so I don't really know the hot spots," said Grace.

"Deal!"

As Grace went to sleep, she had the dream again.

A great darkness was descending on the kingdoms. One that was full of Grimm...but lead by something that looked human.

It was the same dream she had gotten every night since she pushed her powers into Storm's Embrace.

The thing that terrified her the most?

She was starting to see the figure a lot more clearly since then. It felt like a warning...that the dream wasn't a dream, but a premonition. It was like Remnant itself was trying to warn her that something or some _one_ was coming that could do a lot of harm.

Her mother just thought it was a cryptic nightmare, and didn't really ask why she trained so hard until her hands bled. Never thought twice about Grace memorizing glyphs, mastering her odd ability to use Dust the wrong way, or why she secretly honed her Semblance with Ozpin so that she could copy anyone's ability with a single attack.

He said she couldn't use it except in emergencies or proper supervision. And it meant he got a break from the paperwork.

She had all the long-time Professors abilities now. And some of the friends her uncle drummed up with blackmail. Though that last one was limited to a single Hunter by the name of Qrow Branwen.

She could only hope it was enough to survive the coming storm.

* * *

 _A/N: Her weapon is a lot like Signum's from **MGLN.** Her sword is thin like a katana with a bit of a curve similar to a scimitar, the cartridge system is replaced with something similar to the one in Weiss' sword and the whip is quite thinner and shorter than the one Signum uses in the series. The bow line is made of Dust energy and Grace has to use special gloves in order to draw it back to shot arrows made of Dust energy. The revolver system in her weapons serves a purpose... depending on the bullet inside the chamber when she fires it, different types of Dust will either coat her weapons or turn into arrows. She can also launch attacks like Weiss by firing bullets and sending them to her target._

 _Grace likes to joke that the sword is for short range, the whip is for mid-range and the bow is for long-range combat._


	2. Chapter 2

**Prop C619 is the invention of _Z.R. Stein._ I would seriously recommend their HP/RWBY cross _Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant._ I honestly could not remember where I read that particular piece of fanfiction to use in this story, which is why I didn't mention it before.  
**

* * *

Glynda couldn't help but fidget. It had nothing to do with nerves, or having a bad day.

It had everything to do with an odd anxiety.

"Seems someone is missing Grace," joked Ozpin.

Glynda glared at him.

"Here are the reports for our latest expenditures."

Ozpin smiled at her from behind his precious mug.

"It's perfectly natural to have separation anxiety when sending one's child to a boarding school for the first time," said Ozpin.

"I will switch the entire stock of coffee to decaff if you don't shut up now."

"Shutting up. But seriously, there's no reason you can't enjoy yourself while Grace is at Signal," said Ozpin.

The glare she sent at him could have frozen Fire Dust.

He winced. This did not bode well for his stash of his favorite coffee.

Still the annoyance did have a point. For the first time in eight years she had time to herself. Grace wouldn't return for at least five.

Glynda looked outside the window and sighed.

She could use a day off.

* * *

Grace was about to head to library when she saw it. Her mind filled with fury, and she stomped over to where a group of boys was surrounding a faunus girl.

"What in Oum's name are you _doing_ ," she hissed enraged.

The boys turned to her, before going back to their victim.

"Butt out of this Goodwitch, we're teaching this dirty animal a lesson."

There were days she wished she was allowed to carry Storm's Embrace outside of combat practice. This was one of them. Fortunately she did have a practice weapon with her at all times, though which one varied upon her mood.

Today she had a spare of her mother's usual 'weapon'. It was more of a focus for her Semblance.

The sound of slaps of the weapon against their hands and their sudden shocked hiss of pain calmed her down.

"What's your problem! She's just a dirty faunus!" said the boy snidely.

"And you're just a barbaric _human_ ," she shot right back, helping the other girl up. "Do you have any idea what you look like, ganging up on a girl like that?"

The trio of boys glared at her, already prepared to deal with her as well. That is, before Yang and her sister came into view.

"What's going on here?" asked Yang dangerously.

"I found these idiots ganging up on a girl just because she has wolf ears," said Grace coldly, her opinion very clear on the matter. What most didn't know was that she actually supported the White Fang movement, and even saved up her allowance to help pay for medical supplies and food for faunus orphans.

Her mother, when she found out via Ozpin after inquiring why Grace's savings weren't as high as they should have been when she went to make her weapon, had sighed in exasperation and told her flat out she wasn't allowed to go to any of the rallies.

However, she did up her allowance and allow her to go with the faunus students to deliver foods and basic first aid kits to the more run-down orphanages for faunus children.

Grace was well known among the more friendly members of the White Fang as an ally to their cause, even if she was discreet about it due to her age.

Yang's eyes narrowed, but not at Grace or the faunus girl.

"They thought ganging up on a girl was acceptable?"

"I'm sure they might try to emulate some of the more...disturbing...human on faunus videos on the Scrollnet," said Grace with ice in her voice. Yang's eyes turned red.

Ruby might think her friend was referring to beating and torture, but Yang was a bit more worldly, enough to understand the subtle reference Grace was making to the more adult videos on the net.

She might not watch them because she found them disgusting, but she knew they existed. She heard the older White Fang members complain about them enough to get the gist.

Seeing the looks on the boys faces (evidently they caught the real meaning of Grace's comment) gave her some hope.

"Why do you think faunus are 'dirty animals' anyway?" asked Ruby. It was clear she didn't get it at all.

Grace listened to their stammered explanations, as it was pretty clear Yang was absolutely in the mood to beat someone up over this. Considering her brawling style usually left prospective hunters and huntresses in the infirmary with broken bones...

They definitely didn't want to give her an excuse to beat them to a pulp.

"So let me get this straight. You don't like faunus because they have different ears and tails?" said Ruby.

"It's not normal!" protested brute number two.

"Ruby had rare eye coloring, and I'm rarely allowed to use my Semblance. We're both oddballs, so does that give you the right to treat us differently?" countered Grace.

The boys winced. If they tried to explain it to her that it was okay for her to have a dangerous Semblance or Ruby to have silver eyes because they were _human_ , Yang would almost certainly pound their faces in until they couldn't feel anything anymore.

"Now then, you lot are going to leave and think about what you were going to do to an innocent girl just because she happens to have wolf ears, or else next time Yang and I will rearrange your faces," said Grace.

Seeing them flee the area, the girl said timidly... "Thank you."

"I'm a friend of the White Fang, or at least the peaceful factions of it. I used to make trips all the time to the orphanages to give them supplies and fresh food. There's nothing wrong with wanting equality, so long as violence isn't used to do it."

The girl raised an eyebrow at her and Yang.

"That was more implied violence," said Grace sheepishly. "Do you need any medical assistance? I have a first aid kit with me."

The girl winced as she touched her shoulder. She calmly allowed Grace to bind her shoulder and apply salve to reduce bruising. Grace also made sure to buy her a lunch large enough to share with her friends, if she had any.

It wasn't spoken of, but the number of faunus children who lived on the street was unfortunately high.

Grace eventually got the girl's name. Remia Darkheart.

"Well that was a thing," said Yang when they got back to the dorms.

"You're not mad at me are you?"

"Nah. I mean I'm kinda surprised to see you lose your cool like that, but considering what those idiots were doing..." said Yang.

Grace was normally refined and calm to Ruby's childish excitability. The two were an odd combination, and Grace had the highest grade point average and combat scores. Except for the grades involving Semblance. She had a barely passing grade in those because she had a note from the headmaster of Beacon of all people explaining an exemption from them.

Yang still couldn't find out what that was about, and her uncle was suspiciously mum about the reason when she asked. Even using Ruby's puppy eyes had no effect.

Finding out this side of her was really refreshing.

"So you go to orphanages to deliver food and medicine?" said Ruby.

"Want to join us? We're going to make a delivery next week," said Grace.

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Not really. The faunus I go with are graduates from Beacon, and they help save up to afford the supplies. Since we started doing it, their living conditions have improved drastically," said Grace.

Because she made a point to visit as often as she could, she got to know the children personally. Enough so that she was able to bring them cheap clothes and new shoes whenever their own was in dire need of replacement.

The fact that the daughter of Beacon's deputy headmistress was doing this because she could, and not because of some community outreach program her mother put her in had other sympathizers joining in.

Some of the other faunus even stepped up to fix the orphanages up so that they were easier to live in, or other minor repairs.

"It's next week right?" said Yang.

"Yup."

"Count me in then. It'll be interesting to see what exactly you do on the weekends anyway."

"Me too!" said Ruby. She liked hanging out with Grace.

* * *

Nothing could have prepared Yang or Ruby for the faunus orphanage. The second the children saw Grace, they lit up and practically tackled her in a hug.

"Gracie!" shouted one girl with bunny ears. A stoic boy with a fox tail was practically vibrating.

"I brought new friends with me! Met Yang and her little sister Ruby. They go to Signal with me," said Grace.

Ruby clicked almost instantly with the kids. Of course the fact she brought some fresh cookies, enough to share with them all didn't hurt.

"Sooo cute!" said Ruby, before she giggled at the pile of faunus kids.

Yang grinned as well, before she bent down to their level to shake their hand.

"So how come you bring stuff anyway?"

"I was adopted when I was three. Though to be fair, my mom firmly maintains my uncle totally guilt-tripped her into it, even though she was only there for a job interview."

"Really?" said Yang, highly amused.

"Yup. He even used an old loophole so I could live at Beacon, but none of the professors were exactly fooled by the reasoning. When I go back I'll likely be an extra for any teams missing a member due to illness or because they got too hurt to go on field trips."

Yang blinked, and looked at her oddly.

"You can do that?"

"Those at the school under the old apprentice laws can. Officially I'm the headmaster's apprentice, since my mom can't take me on. Unofficially he was training me to be a diplomat to ease some of the pressures he has as the head of Beacon."

The second he found out she had a genuine knack for diplomacy, he went all out in training her so he wouldn't have to listen to people argue on the council. He put forth several "problems" that had come up in the past that were never resolved to anyone's satisfaction to see how she would react.

Grace had an uncanny ability to find the easiest solution that was acceptable to both sides, or at least had enough compromise to keep them from arguing for days about it. And if the few times Ozpin had her deal with...strong...personalities with known bias for or against something, she was able to overcome the age difference by displaying a rather strong resemblance to her mother.

Glynda liked to tell students who did good while being foolish that she would give them a pat on the head and a slap on the wrist for doing something so stupid.

Grace, on the other hand, had gotten into the habit of telling idiots who annoyed her she would like to smack them on the head and slap on a pair of cuffs for being so stupid.

Ozpin and the other teachers often had a good laugh seeing her emulate her rather strict mother.

Which was why she was going to be in the advanced courses once she came back to Beacon as a proper student. In between the homework, she would shadow experienced hunters and attend council meetings with Ozpin so she could act as his voice.

It meant she could get a lot more experience at combat, considering she already knew most of the things they taught at Beacon first year.

The trio had quite a bit of fun hanging out with the kids, though Yang felt absolutely exhausted.

"I can't believe you do this every month."

"Again, it used to be a lot worse. Since I started visiting them there's a sense of hope in them that was really lacking."

She kept her mouth shut about her friend Blake, who often came back from working with the White Fang telling her about the world outside Vale.

Blake was a cat faunus who had some major trust issues, but once she realized Grace was being genuine about her care of the orphans she opened up. It didn't hurt that Grace was unashamed to bribe her with books she would have real difficulty acquiring because of the cost.

Besides...Blake was the one to show her all sorts of neat tricks to pull with the whip-form of her weapon. The two of them had contests whenever she was in town.

Still, Yang felt Grace had way too many secrets. And she was determined to get to the bottom of at least one of them.

* * *

"So Uncle Qrow, what's Grace's Semblance?" asked Yang casually, with Ruby trailing behind her for another lesson in using her scythe Crescent Rose.

"For the last time Yang, I can't tell you!" said Qrow exasperated. It was worth more than his job to let _that_ slip.

"Come on, you can tell us can't you?" said Yang.

"She can copy other people's Semblance and use it as her own, but it also comes with their memories," said Ruby.

Qrow and Yang stared at her.

"Grace told me a few months into term. She didn't want to freak me out if she lost her control over it. I don't see what the big deal is, I let her copy my ability so she could help me practice fighting against it," said Ruby.

Qrow winced. Ozpin was going to be annoyed when he found out.

"And when did you let her copy it?" asked Qrow.

"It was a few months into Semblance training. I was complaining about how I was having trouble training mine when she made a comment on how I might find it easier fighting against someone who could do the same thing. It took _weeks_ for me to wear her down enough for her to help me," said Ruby.

"Well at least now I don't have to explain how you found out. There's no rules against her telling you," said Qrow, taking a long pull of his booze.

"Wait, so her Semblance allows her to copy other's?" said Yang, not getting why it was such a big deal.

"It's called 'Rogue'. Because it allows her to copy a person's Semblance to the point where she can absorb it into herself, the council asked Ozpin to put restrictions on her until she became a full huntress."

"Why?" asked Yang shocked.

"Where does our Semblance originate from?" asked Qrow.

"From our unique Aura," said Yang, as if it were obvious.

"And what powers our Auras?"

"Our souls," said Ruby.

"Now imagine facing a huntress that can copy something that is the purest extension of ourselves, right down to reading the memories off our Auras. She can use it just as you can, except she can copy more than one," said Qrow.

Yang's jaw dropped.

That...sounded somewhat terrifying.

"Now you see why her Semblance isn't on the records. She's only allowed to unleash it in emergency combat situations or on other hunters and huntresses previously briefed on her ability with their consent. It was the only way to avoid a potential riot from the other kingdoms," said Qrow.

"Can't she just use someone else's ability in class though?"

"She has a range of how close she has to be in order to copy it. A classroom more than falls into that range, so she has to keep tight control over it to avoid incidents."

Yang winced.

"Which is why she makes a point to become known as a huntress who 'has no Semblance'. As far as anyone needs to know, her Semblance is too wonky to use in battlefield situations, so she specializes in the other areas to hide it. And just so you know, this is a secret you can't tell anyone."

Considering how freaked out their classmates would be if they knew, Yang nodded.

No wonder Grace was so attached to orphans. They wouldn't care if her Semblance was so weird.

* * *

"Ruby told you?" said Grace, wincing.

Yang nodded, then wrapped gave Grace a one-armed hug.

"I was wondering why the teachers never made you practice your Semblance in class."

"They agreed to give me a passing grade to avoid accidents."

"Whatever, you're still my baby sister's weird roommate. How about this... in exchange for helping us with our homework we'll help train your Semblance. I'm sure Uncle Qrow would know someplace," said Yang.

"Ruby and Qrow are already helping, but I suppose an extra partner wouldn't hurt."

"That's the spirit!" cheered Yang.


	3. Chapter 3

_Three years later..._

Grace was out buying more dust bullets for weapons, since anything outside the basics came out of their own pocket. She wanted to experiment with a new combination but couldn't figure out which one to use. Ruby had come along with her because a new issue of a weapon's magazine had just come out and the store Grace went to carried it. She was in the back near where Ruby was when it happened.

Grace recognized the man with the cigar immediately, since she kept up with the news.

Roman Torchwick, a supposed 'supporter' of White Fang.

Her faunus friends had been completely understanding when she told them she couldn't support the group anymore since the new leader insisted on hurting others and robbing people rather than actually _doing_ something to promote Faunus Rights.

Even if the White Fang had taken a turn for the worse, she still visited the orphans to make deliveries.

She had to sigh when Ruby knocked the thug out through the window.

Ruby could handle the rent-a-thugs and possibly Roman. She would wait for the air to settle while protecting the shop owner.

Hearing the sounds of crashing, she narrowed her eyes at Torchwick who was about to shoot Ruby. She drew Storm's Embrace from it's holster and switched it to bow form. She put some of her recent purchases into the slot, and watched as the bow line formed. She pulled back experimentally and saw a Dust-arrow form under her fingers.

If Torchwick hurt Ruby, she wouldn't hesitate to shoot him in the back.

Ruby and Grace looked at each other.

"You okay to guard him while I chase after him?"

"Yup," said Grace.

"Cool!"

Ruby was up like a flash, following the thief to the rooftops.

* * *

Glynda had a headache. Her daughter had gotten involved in a robbery with a known White Fang member and a bunch of rent-a-thugs, as she had called them.

Right now she had to deal with Ruby Rose, and wouldn't you know it, her boss had taken an interest in her.

Ruby took one look at her and said "Wow! You look just like Grace!"

Glynda felt the urge to pinch her nose in exasperation.

"Considering my daughter decided to emulate me rather strongly, I'm not surprised."

"Wait... _You're_ Grace's mom?"

Grace had described her mother as "elegant, strict, but underneath it all someone who genuinely cared for her students like a mother would a child."

The woman in front of her fit that feeling perfectly.

"And you're Grace's roommate, Ruby Rose. She's talked about you quite often."

Ozpin came in, and spoke with Ruby. He knew Grace had been very bored stuck with other students her own age, and to be honest he couldn't really think of a reason to squander her talent when she could simply socialize someplace she felt at ease.

Besides, he really wanted his replacement for the council meetings back.

* * *

"I can't believe you two are going to Beacon with me!" said Yang proudly.

"Uncle Ozpin said that since Ruby was coming, I could simply join her team to get the experience with making friends. That and he really wants his stand in for the Vale Council meetings back."

"Stand in?" said Yang.

"Uncle Ozpin?" said Ruby.

Grace pushed up her glasses.

"My mother is the headmistress, and the headmaster often took me to council meetings since it meant mom didn't have to stress too much about me getting into trouble. He found out by accident I'm good at diplomacy and getting hot tempers to cool down enough to come to agreement. So they accept me as his stand in and it gives him time to finish his paperwork."

"Wait...didn't you say your uncle guilt-tripped your mom into keeping you?" said Yang, mouth quirking up.

"Uncle Ozpin. He noticed me doing something weird and then convinced mom to keep me by pointing out the many, many people who would like to take a girl like me and turn me into a weapon."

"Wow...and she let him?"

"She was there for a job interview. It wasn't like she planned to go anywhere and Beacon came with a built-in series of babysitters that worked more or less for free."

"How does Beacon come with free babysitters?" asked Yang incredulous.

"She let them pass on a minor test or missed assignment each time they watched me while she was busy grading papers or training future huntsman or huntresses."

"...Seriously?" said Yang.

"Well she is the headmistress, and it's not like Uncle Ozpin cared so long as they were doing the work."

Yang got her first good look at Glynda Goodwitch, Grace's mother, when a hologram of her appeared giving the standard introduction to new students.

"Wow... your mom is hot!"

"There's a reason I want to grow up just like her," said Grace, adjusting her glasses. With the sun pouring in from the windows her hair briefly turned like fire as the light hit it just right.

As they landed, Grace opted to stick with Ruby since she was the youngest student in the school. She would need all the help she could get navigating Beacon, since she had never been here before.

And Grace practically memorized the layout by the time she was eight.

"It's good to be home," said Grace smiling.

* * *

"Thanks for sticking with me Grace," said Ruby from the ground. She had gotten spun around and fell over someone's suitcases. Grace helped her up.

"Why wouldn't I? I mean it's more of a homecoming for me, so there's no reason not to help you find your way around," said Grace. Then she spotted someone familiar.

"Blake! Blake, over here!"

Blake Belladonna turned and smiled when she saw Grace.

"Grace, I didn't know you were coming here as well."

"My uncle said that if he was inviting my roommate, there was no reason not to bring me back home as well. And I'll have the group delivery schedules up once the initiating ceremony is over with."

"I'll sign up once you have it down," said Blake.

"Me too! They were so cute and so much fun to be around!" said Ruby.

The kids had taken to Ruby very quickly, much to her delight. Then again she always brought cookies with her.

"You clumsy idiot! Do you have any idea what you could have done if one of these broke?!" snapped a girl in white.

Grace narrowed her eyes at her.

"You're a Schnee aren't you?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. And that clumsy oaf just knocked over _my_ luggage!" she snapped.

"I thought so. Guys, let's leave little miss priss to complain about the world is unfair when her father's company has the worst business practices I've ever seen," said Grace.

The girl winced.

"Let's not forget that the Schnee company has had several warnings for it's bad business practices with faunus," continued Grace.

The wince became more pronounced.

"Who are you anyway, to slander me? Aren't you a little young to be attending this school?" she demanded.

Grace drew herself up to her full height.

Ruby and Blake were wisely staying out of the crossfire.

Grace looked at her friends.

"Should we tell her or let her find out the hard way?"

"Hard way," said Ruby flatly.

"Definitely the hard way. Otherwise you sound like you're bragging," agreed Blake.

"Good point. See you at orientation Blake?" said Grace.

"Definitely," said Blake with a pleased look.

It took Grace a moment to realize they were being followed.

"Aren't you the one who threw up on the air ship?"

"...Yeah..." he admitted sheepishly.

Grace flipped through her scroll, before she found the appropriate pages from her uncle.

"Jaune Arc. Impressive resume...not so impressive first impression."

"Uh, how do you know my name?"

Grace held up her scroll.

"Consider me the go-to person for first year students when it comes to directions and homework assignments."

"Really?" said Jaune hopeful.

"I've lived in Beacon for years, so I know where everything is and I know the habits of the professors. Unlike the rest of the new students I'm automatically in the advanced classes."

She still had to go through initiation like everyone else, but her 'artifact' was going to be the only solo one and she would have to look for it first to avoid confusion.

Grace was catching up on the current lot of students while Ruby and Jaune chatted.

"So who is she?" asked Jaune, once Ruby got over her weapons-induced fangirl moment.

"Grace Goodwitch. Remember the blond woman who was in the hologram earlier? That's her mom."

"Really?" he said in shock.

Grace finished the research, and closed her page.

"Well if Uncle Ozpin let an application that suspicious pass, you _must_ have some potential," said Grace.

Jaune paused, before looking at her owlishly.

"Uncle Ozpin?"

Grace smirked.

"Officially I'm his apprentice. If you can prove yourself worth my time I'd be happy to bring you up to proper standards for Beacon."

He looked decidedly shocked, unable to figure out how to react to her at all.

"Anyway if we want to make it to orientation we should head this way," said Grace, taking the first short cut to the main hall for first years. The two followed her like ducklings.

Grace was rather excited about the impromptu sleepover, since she had never been allowed to join in. It would be the first time she got to do something like this.

The white-haired brat (who's name was Weiss according to the notes her uncle helpfully sent her) was giving her odd looks.

Apparently someone had clued her in to the fact that the 'rude red head' who had told her off was the daughter of the headmistress...and a known supporter of the faunus. Seeing the faunus make a point to sleep next to her made Weiss wince.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Blake.

"First time I've had a sleepover. I was never allowed to join in while I lived here," admitted Grace, propping her head up with a pillow.

"In that case... when we make teams, you can totally crash in our room," said Yang. Ruby nodded enthusiastically.

"I would love that."

"So...how long do you think it would take before the ice princess tries to team up with you," asked Blake.

"Probably as quickly as it'll take Nikos to turn her down," said Grace flatly.

She would reserve judgment on the Schnee heiress, but no one said she had to pretend to like her immediately.

"So is it true you got bios on all the first year students?" asked Yang.

"Again, advanced placement and it gives me a heads up on which people to avoid when it comes to acting as replacement. By the way Blake, avoid the thug known as Cardin... he's a vocal member of the anti-faunus sect," said Grace.

"Any others?"

"I'll give you a list," said Grace.

Those who had an irrational dislike of faunus knew Grace, and she knew them all by sight. Just as the faunus were immediately directed her way if they were uncomfortable talking to a teacher about the bullying.

There hadn't been an incident since Grace was seven, but that was only because the faunus had made a point to sign up for babysitting duty.

Glynda really should have seen her daughter becoming a discreet White Fang supporter in retrospect.

"So how do they pick teams?" asked Yang.

"Do you really want me to spoil it for you? Though if I know my uncle, he'll have placed a solo piece for me to find with the others. I'm not getting out of tradition just because I'm here on the apprenticeship scholarship."

"Hey Grace, have you picked what your emblem would be yet?" asked Blake, changing the subject.

Grace made a face. She didn't get why the stupid thing was so important to people. She pulled up her scroll and displayed a few pictures.

The first was of a crown with several elements acting as the metal. One was wind, symbolized with swirling eddies. Fire was flames licking up and curving in towards the center. Water was gentle waves moving around each other. Earth was represented by flowering vines. Lightning was pretty obvious with it's jagged edges.

The five elements went in a half heart shape to meet up at the center, which came up with a single Dust crystal. The bottom of the crown was pretty unusual too, as it was an intertwined series of Dust crystals and gems.

(To get an idea of the shape, think of the crown that the Queen/King of England wears. I have no idea what it's called.)

"Pretty intricate. Do you think they could even make something like that on your gear?" said Yang whistling.

"That was just the original sketch. Here's the one I'm currently leaning towards," said Grace.

The second one was similar to the first, except instead of the five half-heart shapes coming together in the center, there was a more tiara-like crown with the five Dust crystals at the tips. Each crystal represented five elements, which you could see coming off it in short bursts, and it looked a lot like her mother's emblem...except she had a pair of wings with seven branches on either side of it.

"Interesting. I do like the wings," said Yang appreciatively.

"How about you add the wings to the first one? I really liked it," said Ruby.

"I thought about it, but the crown shape still needs a bit tweaking."

"What about pops of energy coming out of the Dust at the bottom? Or adding a bit of color to it, like a rainbow?" said Ruby excitedly.

Grace blinked.

"You can add more than one color to it?"

"Well yeah, but it's a bit more expensive. Most just stick to the two-tone coloration because it's cheaper and you get it faster," said Yang.

"Well in that case..."

Grace flipped the original emblem to the other version of it she had, adding her wings to either side. They were a fiery red, like the sunset. When she was finished she showed them her new design.

"Wow. Now that's a design!" said Yang appreciatively.

The crown was now all colors of the rainbow. Each Dust crystal at the bottom was a different color from it's neighbor, and spanned the entire color spectrum available. The elements were individual colors too, making it easier to see what they represented. But it was the Dust crystal at the top that really held the attention.

It was white, but not in the sense of an absence of color as one would think of it. More like a clear diamond hit with sunlight to show off a prism of colors while retaining the 'sense' of white.

It was the sort of gem any girl would _kill_ to have on a piece of important jewelry.

"Where did you get the idea for a crystal like that?" asked Blake.

Grace looked somewhat embarrassed.

"I've seen it before in the shops that sell Dust-jewelry for huntresses or hunters trying to propose to their partners. It's really, really expensive since the Dust is so rare, and I've been saving up to get my hands on a set of earrings. It's actually part of an entire set, but I'm not going to buy the others until I have these first," said Grace.

"And you don't have it why?" asked Yang confused.

Grace showed her the price tag. Her eyes doubled in size.

"Holy..."

"And that's just for the set of earrings with this Dust. That's not taking into account the rest of the set," said Grace.

"How much is the rest of the set?" asked Yang. If the one set was that expensive...

Grace showed her. She nearly fainted.

"How are you planning to pay for this?!"

"Well the earrings I've been paying off since I first saw them. The owner was pretty fair about it and doesn't mind as long as I pay a decent sum every month. I'm mostly waiting to pay off the earrings before I get the rest of the set."

Yang looked at her with disbelief. The price of the earrings were way, _way_ out of the range of any student, even Grace. She couldn't imagine even owning one pair, much less being brave enough to wear them. She would be too freaked out at the thought of them breaking in a fight!

"How can you afford the monthly deliveries when you're paying off the earrings?" asked Blake.

She knew it cost at least five hundred Lien to make the deliveries every month to the orphans, and the earrings were really, really expensive.

"I have nothing if not patience, and I get paid every week so long as I maintain a certain grade point average," said Grace.

She saved up two if her weekly allowances, and then the rest was spending cash. Being able to make the lives of the faunus orphans easier was a small price to having to wait a little longer for some fancy jewelry.


	4. Chapter 4

Grace was eagerly awaiting the initiation test. She had always been stuck up on the cliff with her mother during this, and she wanted to join in.

It was finally _her_ turn.

She prepared herself on the pad, knowing what was to come next. Poor Jaune was going to be in for it because he clearly had no idea. Seeing him flung through the air like a rag doll made her smile in amusement. Good thing Pyrrha had it covered.

Grace lived up to her name as she gracefully danced along the winds before making an elegant landing. She just knew her mother was recording this for later.

With long strides and a knowledge of where to go, she was the first one to the ruins. She found several chess pieces, and after searching she found a single white queen.

Clearly her uncle Ozpin was trying to be funny.

Grace made good time and was the first up to the cliff.

"Good job. You've made the school record for time on the initiation exam," said her mother. Grace beamed with pride. "I'll be giving you a raise in your allowance, provided you can handle yourself with the dignity I expect for a proper student of Beacon."

"Yes, mother," said Grace.

"In the meantime, you can either wait in the area where the other new students will be arriving or watch with us," said Ozpin.

"I'll stick around to see how they handle themselves around a teammate," said Grace.

From what she saw, most were positively banal. People who would become hunters or huntresses, but not noteworthy enough to do more than act as fillers in a fight.

However she did spot four potential teams that might make some serious waves.

Ruby and Weiss, Blake and Yang, Jaune and Pyrrha, and finally Nora and Ren.

It was pretty easy to guess what her uncle would call those teams, since they had each retrieved the same pieces.

RWBY and JNPR. Ruby and Juniper.

She couldn't wait to train with them.

 _By nightfall..._

"The Apprentice and acting back up for missing member roles will be given to Grace Goodwitch. Good luck young woman," said Ozpin professionally.

Grace could hear the whispers of the first year students. None of them knew what the term 'acting back up' meant.

And it didn't take long for the leader for Cardin to make a fuss about it because she was the headmistress' daughter.

"So I suppose being Professor Goodwitch's daughter comes with special privileges, like not needing a team," he sneered.

Nearby Ruby's team frowned, including Weiss. They stood back to watch how this played out. Grace pushed up her glasses with annoyance.

"The only privilege I have for being in the apprentice role is that I'm automatically allowed into the advanced courses should I prove capable of handling them. As for the acting back up, it's means I fill in for any team members that are unable to participate in active field exercises that involve the open possibility of live combat."

"Is that all?" sneered Cardin. "Seems to me you're pretty full of yourself because you're related to the advanced combat professor."

Grace glared at him.

"About the only advantage I have over you and the other first years is that I've lived in Beacon most of my life and happen to know the layout better. I'm still going to work as hard as any of you, and in some cases I have to work harder because the teachers will hold me to a much higher standard," she stated flatly.

Weiss frowned. She could understand that pressure a little too well. People compared her to her older sister Winter all the time.

It was very annoying.

Grace stalked up to Cardin with a Look on her face that didn't speak well for him.

"Let me make this absolutely clear. There is a zero tolerance to bullying in the academy and Professor Goodwitch enforces it with an iron rod. If I catch you harassing any of the other students because of some ill-conceived perception of superiority you _will_ wish my mother is the one you were dealing with. Unlike her I can kick your sorry behind all the way back to Signal and only get a reprimand for it because I am a student the same as everyone else. And I don't play around when it comes to a fight," she said coldly.

Cardin flinched at her gaze. Something about it spoke of barely restrained violence that would end in him in a lot of pain on the training room floors.

Grace waited for him to back down first, which he did.

Weiss watched that in awe and open approval.

"You have got to show me how you did that," she said impressed.

"Aren't you all late for class?"

"Eep!" yelped Ruby, as they bolted for the doors. Grace snickered.

She went straight to her class, which was actually a lesson in diplomacy with her uncle Ozpin. They didn't have a class for this, per say, but hands on experience was close enough to one.

* * *

It had only been a month, but Grace was rather excited for one simple reason.

Thanks to the minor increase in her allowance, she could _finally_ finish off paying for her earrings. The first chance she had on her day off, she went to the store and paid it off. She came back to Beacon with a happy expression on her face, along with a new set of earrings in her ears.

Yang noticed her first at lunch, waving her over.

"Hey Grace, over here!"

"Wow! Are those the earrings you told us about?" asked Ruby drooling.

Even Weiss had trouble not being impressed with them. Of course she would have to do some serious sucking up to her jerk of a father and do something really impressive to get a pair like it.

"So what does the full set look like?" asked Blake.

Grace show her the rest of it. It included bracelets, anklets and a necklace.

"What, no rings?" joked Yang.

Grace shook her head.

"I chose the ones that wouldn't accidentally interfere with my casting or the bow form. A ring runs a major risk of being set off by the Dust-line in the bow and blowing up in my face. The bracelets are loose enough to be comfortable, but not so much that it would interfere with my aim."

"Smart," said Weiss.

Once you got past the strict exterior, Grace was easier to be around. Of course Weiss was under no illusion she would have to earn her respect because of her family name.

She only had a decent chance at it because Ruby was her teammate, and was best friends with Grace from Signal.

Very quickly Grace was swamped by her friends.

"I can totally see why you rarely do more than buy Dust bullets or the supplies every month, if you were paying those off," said Velvet gushing.

"They look just like your mom's earrings, but in a different color," added her partner.

"They absolutely suit you," said Yang, nodding.

"So are you still able to make the delivery this month?" asked Velvet.

"I should be able too. I just won't be able to afford Dust Bullets this month. Or anything else really."

Velvet grinned.

"Time for us to do the collection early then," said Velvet.

Whenever expenses were tight, the faunus at Beacon would have a collection among them and get the supplies for the orphans when they visited. It wasn't often, but it meant they could contribute even if they couldn't visit.

"So what class do you have tomorrow Grace?" asked Ruby.

"I'm going to be the teaching assistant for all of next month, since I know all the first year material. Be warned, that means I'm doing most of the grading," said Grace.

"Seriously?" said Yang with such a hopeful look on her face that Grace had to burst her bubble.

"Mostly so they can think of new and inventive ways to steal your free time," said Grace. Yang looked positively horrified. Ruby snickered.

With the female bonding out of the way, the girls got back to enjoying their free day.

"That reminds me, didn't you offer to tutor Jaune in combat?" asked Yang.

"Pyrrha can help him with tactics, but thank you for reminding me. I'll start on his stances after lunch."

Jaune had never really trained with his sword at all, and it showed. Painfully so. And it gave Grace a chance to train with Storm's Embrace.

Jaune gulped at the look she was giving him. Good mood or not, she was not going to take it easier on him. She held herself to a higher standard than letting him do the bare minimum of training.

* * *

 _Outside in the empty training ground..._

Jaune went into a rather sloppy stance, which had Grace scowling.

"First things first. Straighten up," she said, adjusting his posture and his grip. She also nudged his feet slightly apart and his arms in a much more firm position that was good for attack and defense. "Better?"

Jaune gulped.

"Now for the basic attacks. We're going to keep this so simple that even Pyrrha can help you with them later. Keep in mind this tempo. One, two, three."

"1, 2, 3?" repeated Jaune.

"Follow my lead as if it were a dance," said Grace. Jaune brightened... dancing was one thing he could do. "One, two, three."

"Like a waltz!"

"Exactly!" she said pleased. "Now pay attention and follow my lead. Remember..."

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

With each number she went into a basic attack, parry and defend stance.

"Now you."

Jaune nodded.

"One."

His stance was off, but it was a vast improvement to before.

"Two."

He would likely have his sword knocked out of his hand with that.

"Three."

His defense was lacking, but she would teach him to use his shield as it was meant to be used for it.

She adjusted his stances.

"Again."

By the time dinner rolled around, Jaune had picked up the stances enough that she could move on to the next set in a week with any luck. Apparently comparing it to an dance was the trick to getting him to remember them.

He also mentally kept repeating 1, 2, 3 in his head for days.

And as she had hoped, Pyrrha took over making sure Jaune actually practiced at night. Even she could admit he did have some potential if you worded it right and took it slow.

Within a few weeks of this, Grace could see a vast improvement in his fighting ability. His Semblance was sloppy and refused to show itself unless he was in the right state for it, but his sword work was much less of a joke. Surprisingly he picked up the footing and the blocking first.

* * *

It was two months after she started making Jaune a proper Hunter that he asked something that had been bugging him.

"What exactly are the deliveries you make and why do all the faunus go to you first if someone is bugging them, regardless of the year they're in?"

"The deliveries are food and other essential items to the orphanages in the faunus areas of Vale. I go and spend the day with them and make sure things are running smoothly for them. The kids certainly love it and there's been an upswing in faunus enrollment at Beacon since I started it. As for why they come to me... you know Professor Goodwitch is my mother right?"

Jaune nodded. He'd heard a lot of the meaner teams talk about the fact she got "special privileges" because she was the daughter of Professor Goodwitch and how she got away with a lot of things.

Jaune knew Grace trained harder than any of them, because he often saw her while training with Pyrrha on the empty roof of their dorm at night. She never used her Semblance, but pure weapons, glyphs and dust attacks.

It was weird.

"They know I'm on _their_ side. And that I used to be a White Fang supporter until the recent change in leadership that lead to them being too violent. Having someone close enough to the headmaster to have their concerns and problems heard meant that the bullying problem in Beacon has gone down considerably. They trust me to speak for them."

"And the classes with Professor Ozpin?"

"He's training me to be the voice of the faunus in the Vale Council. Because of the discrimination, they're having trouble getting a representative that won't be outright ignored. Instead they've agreed to support me as their voice once I graduate."

"I thought you wanted to be a huntress?"

"Who said I can't be a huntress and a diplomat? They only hold meetings once a month, and I could easily take a mission and come back in time for it."

"Oh."

"Tell you what, how about you join us for a delivery. You don't mind Faunus do you?"

"No! I know what it's like to be bullied," said Jaune embarrassed. That and he kept thinking of that jerk Cardin.

"Jaune, you do realize that Uncle Ozpin is well aware you forged your transcripts to get in, right?" deadpanned Grace.

"WHAT?!"

"In fact the only requirement to enter Beacon is to survive initiation. I mean Blake never went to any of the schools and she passed with flying colors. The way you handled yourself in the Emerald Forest was all you needed to become a full student here. Besides, you're actively trying to improve your skills and you keep your grades up. You're not going to be expelled just because you lied on your application," said Grace.

"Seriously?" said Jaune hopeful.

Grace nodded.

"You remember how I said there's been a surge of faunus applicants to Beacon in the past couple of years?"

Jaune nodded.

"How many do you think are passive members of White Fang, or lie about their species on the application?"

"Uh..."

"Almost all of them. As long as they're not part of the current White Fang, but the original one I helped out occasionally, they're allowed in. It usually takes a few months for them to become comfortable enough to realize they don't have to hide their ears, tails or other appendages, so long as their willing to become huntresses and hunters dedicated to fighting Grimm," said Grace.

Jaune looked positively relieved. Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder.

"Now, why have you been avoiding your team for the past three weeks?"

"Cardin overheard me telling Pyrrha that my transcript was a fake and he's been blackmailing me," admitted Jaune. It felt great to get that out of his system.

"Is that what's been going on?" said Pyrrha, having been nearby. Grace had convinced her they could get the real story out him during training.

Jaune jumped, before looking embarrassed. He nodded miserably.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said, Beacon does accept students who haven't been to any of the combat schools. So long as they look like they can handle the workload and can keep up with their team, the professors really don't care about the transcripts. They're more or less a stepping stone for schools like this anyway," said Grace.

She left them to talk it out, and knew Jaune would be alright. Finding out he wouldn't be expelled because of a few false papers meant he could ignore Cardin's attempts to blackmail him.

When she passed by Team JNPR later, she found them smiling and laughing, especially Nora. They were happy to have their leader back.

"Well done," said Ozpin.

"Well it's not like I was lying. The school does accept students who don't have transcripts from the combat schools like Signal, so long as they pay their dues and keep up."

"I already had a word with his parents the first month he came here. They were relieved to find out he had managed to pass initiation without proper training and are paying the dues. So long as he can handle real hunter training, his spot in Beacon is safe," said Ozpin, drinking his coffee.

"And team CRNL?"

"Mr. Winchester is going to find things are quite different at Beacon," said Ozpin flatly.

He normally didn't care about the bullying, preferring to let things sort themselves out via the teachers or the victims growing a spine. It wasn't his place to tell them "No, you can't harass a student for being a faunus".

"Does that mean I can finally pound his face in?"

"It means you're going to have a match in the training ground where you're allowed to beat him into the dirt with your usual abilities without worry."

"No Semblance?"

"That would be a no."

"Oh goody, I can finally use my dust bullets."

"Speaking of which... how exactly did you lose five clips of Dust Bullets without even waking up?" asked Ozpin.

It was something of a inside joke that Grace had the oddest habit of misplacing her bullet cartridges without even doing anything. She would buy different varieties in bulk, and would wake up the next morning missing all but three of whatever ones she purchased. More that once she had gone spare trying to find where they had disappeared to with no luck.

Oddly, she never ran low on bullet cartridges when it came time to fight, as if she always had an extra one in the pouch she carried them in. And yet, when she empty it she could never find more than the ones she had already put in there earlier.

It was baffling.


	5. Chapter 5

Most of the first years (and the very eager faunus who got permission to watch this long overdue beat down) stared in awe when they saw Grace enter the arena. Because her skill level was on par with at least a second or third year student, she took advanced classes with them. So it was rare for her to join in on the battle arena with her fellow first years.

"Today the first match will be Cardin Winchester against Grace Goodwitch. Semblance is banned from this match, as are glyphs. Only weapons and Dust bullets are allowed," said Professor Goodwitch.

Cardin looked very pleased to be fighting Grace. He wanted to "put her in her place" as she had gone out of her way repeatedly to humiliate him, at least in his opinion.

Thanks to her, he had lost his whipping boy Arc. Even when he revealed to the other students and teachers Jaune had faked his transcripts, he was given a stern reprimand from the more easy going Headmaster who happened to be passing by _and_ he had to endure the most boring Professor for an entire because of the detention he got for trying to incite trouble.

How was _he_ supposed to know that having fake transcripts was considered acceptable if the applicant could keep up with the workload and pull their weight in combat practice?!

Worst of all was the reprimand and the fact he would find himself suspended from Beacon "if he continued to interrupt the school environment with his prejudice".

Those faunus totally had it coming and Arc was a complete loser! He only got in on a technicality, and everyone knew it!

Grace had her freaky weapon that made no sense. It was a sword, a whip and a bow...three things that simply didn't work, at least not together. And she didn't even have a Semblance.

Cardin cracked his knuckles. He was going to enjoy putting this bitch in her proper place.

Grace eyed him with open distaste and pity, further enraging him.

A hunter should be held to a high standard, and if they couldn't maintain that, then she was of the firm belief they should be kept on missions if only to keep them from inciting public unrest. That, or so they could be done away with before their bigotry and stupidity could infect others.

She casually flicked the revolver into the firing position.

"Begin!" said her mother.

Grace took a perfect stance and let Cardin make a total fool of himself. He thought brute force and power would let him defeat any Grimm he came across.

She turned the entire fight into a dance, elegantly flicking a switch on the hilt that turned the sword into an elongated whip. Pulling the trigger allowed her to coat the entire thing in electricity as the lighting Dust fired from her weapon.

Jaune watched in awe and even took out his scroll to take notes as she calmly and gracefully moved around Cardin, barely flicking at his aura with her whip with such casual ease. Her aura hadn't even dipped a few bars, whereas his were being chipped away with terrifying ease.

She was playing with him and everyone knew it.

Cardin became like a charging bull, and tried to land an attack on her.

With a swish, the whip reformed into her sword, which she then used to parry and knock Cardin on his ass as she tripped him.

She did a few flips, gaining some distance before merging her sword into it's bow form, and firing another Dust Bullet, giving her a line of bright red signaling she had used Fire Dust. Her cape, which was very similar to the one her mother wore save for the light red coloring and the fact that she didn't have the same trim, flowed around her as she drew back on the bowline, forming a blazing arrow.

Her aim was true, and her rate of fire was as rapid as a Nevermore launching it's feathers.

Within moments Cardin's aura had dropped to almost nothing, and she moved rapidly with her sword to drop it to the required bare minimum to claim her win.

All of this took place in less than five minutes.

"Winner, Grace Goodwitch," said her mother.

The faunus and other students cheered.

"That was awesome Grace!" said Velvet. "And about time. That guy was a real ass."

"You cheated!" roared Cardin.

Everyone turned to look at him baffled. He had lost fairly and now he was trying to make himself look better by claiming Grace failed to follow the rules of combat?

"Excuse me?" said Grace with ice in her voice.

Those that knew her winced.

"You used your glyphs to win!"

Now Professor Goodwitch was angry. Unfortunately she couldn't say anything because she would likely be accused of bias.

Grace smirked, then used her scroll to pull up the last minute of the fight.

"Does anyone see a glyph near me?" she called out.

Everyone watched and saw nothing. Not even a hint of a glyph or rune anywhere near her. And activating Semblance would have taken a chunk out of her aura score, which remained the same.

"You're just mad you got beaten by a girl!" shouted Ruby angrily.

"Oh yeah, well I bet that the tart doesn't even _have_ a Semblance!" shouted Cardin embarrassed and humiliated. He was so enraged he didn't even realize that the only ones backing him up was his team, and that was because it was expected of them to back their friend and leader.

Grace's eyes turned hard like jade.

"For your information, the reason I never use my Semblance is because it was deemed too dangerous in populated areas," said Grace icily.

Teams JPNR and RWBY all knew of Grace's Semblance and why it was restricted inside Beacon and Vale. And any other kingdom where hunters lived.

Ruby had let it slip, and Professor Ozpin confirmed it. Which was why Grace tended to hang out with them since they didn't hold it against her.

Though Pyrrha had to see if she really could copy other people's Semblance by having her copy hers. To say she had been shocked such a rare and almost terrifying ability existed was an understatement.

Her respect for Grace had only grown realizing her friend had trained herself to rely on everything _but_ her Semblance while still training in how to use it with close friends.

Her Aura control was so refined that she could fight for hours since she didn't rely on her Semblance like nearly every other hunter or huntress Pyrrha had known. And using it generally had the effect of draining aura faster than using Dust or glyphs.

Grace had something very few huntresses her age could hope to get without years of learning to store their power.

She could handle prolonged combat that lasted hours without getting too tired, compared to those that could barely handle high-combat situations solo.

There was a very good reason why Grace was in the advanced combat classes instead of the ones designed to increase their stamina and aura amounts.

"Bullshit!" shouted Cardin.

Grace glared at him, before she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"How you managed to become a student while acting like a bigger child than Ruby is when she's overly excited about weapons I will never understand. And before you try to prove yourself a 'bigger man', I am not the least bit ashamed to inform you that I will not reveal my Semblance just to prove a point. Hunters should be held to a higher standard than being a bully, and the way you're acting is just a big red flag showing you'll one day get your partner and team killed," she stated with a flat voice.

Glynda mentally made a note to increase her daughter's allowance again. Putting a bully in his place while accused of cheating _and_ making it clear she wasn't immature enough to show off what her Semblance was to a crowd was a big step for her.

"My daughter has a point. If you continue to create baseless accusations you will undoubtedly get your team killed in a real fight. You're treading on thin ice Mr. Winchester."

His teammates winced.

Cardin reluctantly left, but it was abundantly clear he would be a thorn in Grace's side at any given chance.

Not that she cared. She didn't sleep in the dorms and she was openly favored by the teachers to the point she called the headmaster her uncle to his face.

* * *

It was pure instinct that caused her to rear back her right fist and punch the face of Cardin Winchester in the face so hard he was knocked out instantly.

His partner stared at her in disbelief, because Grace was very slight compared to Cardin, before he looked her in the eye and held up both hands in the old form of surrender.

"I tried vehemently to talk him out of it."

"Just don't fall into his despicable habits and I won't come after you. And tell him next time I'll do worse than break his nose with a punch I didn't have a chance to fully throw my weight behind."

The boy looked at the damage to Cardin's nose and winced. If that wasn't from her full power, he'd hated to see what she could do when really, really pissed and with a chance to prepare.

"Also tell him that because he was stupid enough to ignore the cameras in every hall, he now has two more months of Professor Port's...riveting...dialogues in addition to hid detention."

The teen blanched as Grace casually pointed out the camera which had the light on.

"Seriously?"

She shrugged.

"After a certain incident with another student who thought faunus were beneath him and helping the headmaster budget for it, they had an entire system of cameras installed all over campus. Only the dorm rooms, bathrooms and other areas I will not name were safe from the security upgrade. The number of faunus incidents in the school dropped to almost zero when the idiots found out that Professor Ozpin was being entirely serious when he said instigators would be given long detentions or be thrown out if they were caught harassing another student because of their species. Needless to say it only improved the public image with the faunus and a few humans," said Grace flatly.

The faunus liked the fact Ozpin at least _tried_ to take their safety seriously and treated them as just another student, and the humans quit complaining when they found out that the bullying issue wasn't just limited to faunus. Sure they were the majority, but that was a fact they didn't discuss.

They had to open up the older dorms just to handle the increase in potential hunters and huntresses.

Beacon currently had the highest percentage of faunus students in all four kingdoms, which only improved their public image.

Grace walked away, as she was about to be late for Ozpin's "diplomacy classes". Which were really him giving her scenarios she had to work out of involving two heated sides that were not in the mood to compromise.

When talking didn't work, her ability to emulate her mother to a terrifying degree at least got them to focus on something other than being idiots.

Though she had to admit, seeing her uncle choke on his coffee when he read her response to having to deal with complete idiots over faunus rights when she was tired and on her monthly cycle had been so funny she immediately shared it with her mother.

He never expected her to discreetly prank the entire council with high-grade laxatives and locking them in the room until they agreed to come to a compromise. Or when they refused to properly listen hold the toilet paper hostage.

The fact he did exactly that a month later when it came up had her howling with laughter. Her mother, not so much.

Her mother harbored a soft side she hid with stern discipline and icy exterior. Grace hid an mischievous streak that was positively evil when unleashed.

Well, that and a dominatrix kink that she would honestly claim to have gotten from her mother.

Something that would terrify any boyfriend or girlfriend she had later...

* * *

"Explain to me again why I'm currently stuck acting as the temporary leader of team RWBY," said Grace, pinching her nose.

"Ehehehe...well..." started Yang.

"On second thought, from the looks Blake and Weiss are giving you I don't want to know why Ruby is currently incapacitated with a massive hangover that includes a nasty case of a sugar-high induced coma," said Grace bluntly.

"Ten different fruit drinks that include enough sugar to overload even Ruby that were laced with two different kinds of Dust...how she lived through that I'll never get..." muttered Weiss.

"Qrow Branwen is their uncle, and he drinks more than any sailor I've ever met," said Grace. Seeing Weiss' look, she added "And most of it is Dust enhanced kind. How the hell did you convince your _fourteen year old_ sister to drink any of that anyway?"

Yang mumbled something under her breath, before looking at Grace nervously.

"She'll be released by next week, but you're going to be the one to suffer my mother's loud and unpleasant chat about giving drinks to minors, even if she is a huntress in training. There will be heavy equations that you'll have to finish with some competence before you're allowed to leave Beacon on your days off, or you can suffer a long detention with Professor Port having to actually listen to his stories."

Yang blanched.

"You wouldn't."

"No, I'm just giving you a heads up of the possible punishments for getting a minor drunk to the point she's in the infirmary for almost a week and a half and banned from cookies."

"Oh Oum, Ruby is going to kill me if Dad or Uncle Qrow don't do it first."

Ruby _loved_ cookies, and if she was banned from having even the mass produced ones for over three days...

Yang shivered in fear at the monster that would be unleashed. Or the sheer level of puppy dog eyes that would almost certainly be produced.

Weiss however was in a foul mood because Ruby had kept her up for hours during the entire incident.

"Are we going to have a problem?" she asked Grace.

Grace raised an eyebrow.

"Allow me to clarify something for you, Ms. _Schnee_. I visit at least three orphanages once a month filled with faunus children, several of whom were forced to go there because of your family's deplorable business practices and open racism to people born with a few minor appendages. However from what little I've found about you, it's clear you're just as much a victim of your own family as some of the orphans were."

Weiss' eyes widened before she blanched.

"Wait, what?"

"A gilded cage made with the blood money of the faunus is still very much a cage," stated Grace bluntly. "While my social interactions with children my age is somewhat stunted, Weiss' interaction is almost nonexistent until she came to Beacon. She was almost entirely home schooled and barely managed to convince her parents to let her attend the school."

Weiss was positively shaking, either with rage or humiliation was debatable. To make it worse, Blake was giving her pitying looks.

"So no, I'm not going to hold your own prejudice and ingrained bigotry against you. Considering what your father does to the faunus, it's obvious that even limited contact with him and zero contact with others would leave your world view skewed to reality. I am mature enough to maintain a professional attitude even around those I disagree with, whereas you were openly spoiled and kept locked up like a bird never allowed to fly."

Weiss looked ready to scream or cry, whichever happened first.

"Kinda harsh aren't you?"

"Sometimes in order to grow we need to break out of our self-imposed lies. She'll either drop out of Beacon and go back to the cage only to be married off once she becomes the head of her father's business or she'll become stronger than before and learn some tolerance to others. For now we have combat class," said Grace flatly.

"You know you never did explain why you supported the old White Fang despite being raised in Beacon," said Blake, changing the subject. Weiss twitched.

"Long story short the faunus girls who studied here before my minor suggestions made it more bearable for the faunus to learn at Beacon without incident were all White Fang members who found it the perfect chance to nip racism against their own in the bud by always signing up for babysitting duty. My mother didn't see it coming until I first started up my collections at Beacon and made trips with them to the orphanages to deliver food, clothes and books," said Grace with a smirk.

Blake snickered.

"The only reasons I'm not considered a full member is because I'm a human and a minor."

Her mother had put her foot down on that point, and her watchers agreed to keep her out of the rallies.

"You're one to talk! I bet you had your pick of tutors while living here!" snapped Weiss, her anger getting the better of her.

Grace raised an eyebrow.

"The only 'tutors' I had were senior students who were doing their homework. There is no better way to learn than to teach, and they took turns teaching me how to be a huntress. As a result they were much more rounded compared to their peers and left to become noteworthy hunters and huntresses in their own right despite the fact they had just graduated. And the only 'advantage' I had compared to other children my age is that the teachers here didn't mind if I sat in their classes so long as I took actual notes, didn't cause a scene and remained quiet. Any questions I had were always saved for after the lesson."

"So pretty much like any other child who lives with their parents in a boarding school allowed to roam the halls within reason and listen to the teachers," concluded Blake.

"Pretty much," agreed Grace.


	6. Chapter 6

Every time Grace heard the words Vytal festival, she got a feeling of dread. At first it was nothing, and she could ignore it.

But now she couldn't shake it no matter what she did. And it drove her to train harder, longer and faster than ever. So much so her mother had restricted her access to the training rooms and that drove her into the library.

Her school work was ahead of the level of her peers, even in the advanced courses.

And some of her friends noticed her drive. So much so that they picked up on her unease and began to train harder than they would have, particularly Team JNPR and RWBY.

For all her scatterbrained nature, Ruby was quite the competent fighter.

The thing that terrified Grace most was the dream. It seemed to be warning her of something. Something dark and cruel heading her way. A figure with glowing eyes and cold ambition. A figure that was becoming clearer until she could almost make out a face with each passing day.

"Grace, what is wrong?" asked her mother. She quickly added "And don't say it's nothing."

Grace flinched, before she came clean.

"I think I'm having visions. Like Oum is trying to warn me of something bad about to happen. Something so big it could rock all of Vale."

Glynda sat down with some tea and shared a cup with Grace.

"Tell me."

"There's a great darkness. It's discreet at first, almost hard to notice in the background. But recently it's been growing deeper and more sinister. In the darkness there's a figure, a woman I think. She has glowing eyes and a red dress. Her skills are almost above yours, I think. It's like she has a power that hasn't been seen in a long time, and she intends to unleash it on Vale. I think it's tied to the Vytal festival, because I've been getting this sense of unease every time someone brings it up."

Glynda sipped her tea quietly.

Normally she would chalk this up to a childish nightmare...but the fear and concern in Grace's voice was very real. And Grace would never exaggerate something like this. She was almost too mature sometimes.

It was why she was grateful for Team RWBY and JNPR for being Grace's friends. Especially Ruby. Grace let down her guard and acted more like a mature girl her age than a small adult.

"I can't think of anything I could say to ease your nightmares. As much as I would like to dismiss them as simple worries, I know you better than that. So instead I'll say this. Train your friends."

Grace blinked.

"Really?"

"You've trained for years under the best teachers here, even if you were technically too young to be here in the first place. Your skills are at a higher level, and if you really are worried about this, then make sure that you train your friends so that they can stand beside you and win. I know you're already training young Arc so that he can hold his head high against those like Mr. Winchester."

Cardin was already on probation after multiple complaints by the faunus of him trying to instigate fights. His insensitive comments and bad behavior had him on thin ice with the teachers. It was like he expected to become a hunter and have everyone bow before him just for existing.

Grace hated self-entitled idiots like him.

"So... I should train the others?"

"Or tell them that I do individualized lesson plans if they have the sense to request it. Remember, you grew up around Beacon. You know more than you think."

"Then why did I have to go to Signal?"

"Because all the knowledge in the world won't help you become a huntress. Besides, rules state that in order to become an official Apprentice, one must spend at least three years at a recognized school. Can you honestly say you regret meeting Ruby or the others?"

"Well, no."

"So help them. Aim for more than just getting them into the advanced classes with you. Train them to be better hunters. You have the instincts."

"Yes mom."

* * *

"So what's this about Grace?" asked Yang.

"You know how I've been teaching Jaune to use his sword, while Pyrrha trains him with his shield? Well my mother suggested I offer up similar training to the rest of my friends since I did grow up in Beacon, and know where to find the best books to improve your skills."

She looked to the "Ice Princess".

"For example, your glyph choice is acceptable for a beginner but you could be so much better. Blake, some of the other friends have offered to help improve your natural abilities, since I can't really help with it. Ruby...I can help with your tactics."

"What about us?" asked Nora, practically bouncing.

"Your teamwork with Ren is good, but you could really use some self-restraint. And Ren, I've got a book on hand signals to use your inclination to let Nora do the talking. This lets you signal your team without having to try and talk over her," said Grace.

Ren nodded, rather pleased.

"So what are you going to do?" asked Yang.

"I'm going to be overseeing your training. As for my own... well, you know the Remnant, the game?"

They all nodded.

"Well to make this interesting for us all, you have to beat me at it while fighting. It allows you all to train in multitasking, forcing your brain to work while you improve on your combat skills."

"Wait...beat you?" said Weiss.

"Uncle Ozpin taught me how to play, and he uses it to improve my diplomacy skills," shrugged Grace.

She was also the reigning champ at Beacon, at least until she went to Signal.

"I'm in!" said Ruby excitedly.

"Well, at least I won't be suffering alone," said Jaune.

"It would help us in class, since you are in the advanced courses," agreed Pyrrha. She had thought she would end up in the advanced courses, but thanks to Jaune's score she had been placed in the same one as her friends. Not that she was complaining... like Grace told her when she mentioned it, some people learned best by teaching.

She had certainly learned a few new things to use with her shield by teaching Jaune.

 _A few hours later..._

Yang wasn't angry... she was downright annoyed beyond belief.

"How do you keep beating us with nothing but an absurdly high diplomacy skill!"

"You're just mad that my mad skills are better than any of your cards," said Grace smugly.

"Seriously, how do you get everyone else to attack each other and not Vale with just talking?" asked Weiss, dodging a strike from Grace.

"When you understand psychology, the rest is easy. Humans are vain, greedy creatures and it's no wonder the Grimm get drawn to us. And the faunus are openly resentful to humans, so they just need the right incentive to go to war and weaken the kingdoms from within," said Grace, putting Jaune through a new set of attacks.

"It is somewhat terrifying how easily she set the other kingdoms against each other," said Blake.

"Uncle Ozpin says the same thing. You should have seen how quickly the Vale council paled when I did the same thing to them rather than suffer another one of their talks over something we already discussed last session."

That had been a fun session, seeing them blanch when they realized how easily she had set the whole world on fire with just a few maneuvers.

There was a reason her uncle refused to play chess with her anymore.

* * *

"GAH!"

"Jaune! Are you okay?"

"Stupid, stupid, stupid... it was step, step, turn, _then_ twirl, not step, step, step, twirl!" said Jaune in despair.

"It's still a vast improvement over when we started," said Grace without looking up.

"Uh...is anyone else confused?" asked Ruby.

"Jaune, despite being the biggest klutz among the first years, is actually a surprisingly good dancer. He memorized a lot of basic stances within a month because I put them into a way he could remember."

"Jaune can dance?!" was the incredulous reply from team RWBY.

"He is actually quite limber," said Ren.

"Okay this I have to see," said Weiss.

"Pyrrha, would you mind acting as Jaune's partner in a basic waltz?"

"Not at all," replied the red head.

To the disbelief of Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, Jaune expertly took his partner into a brief waltz without _once_ stepping onto her feet. Which was a common mistake of most beginners.

"HOW?!" said Weiss.

Jaune rubbed his head embarrassed.

"My sisters were big fans of shounen manga and the first thing that came to mind for balance training was a lot of dancing?" he said in a mumble.

"Oh god..." said Weiss, as she suddenly connected Jaune to the many, many descriptions her sister had given her as her only rival in the dance competitions...and the even more lurid stories she insisted on Weiss reading if only so she had an idea of what to do after puberty hit.

How was she supposed to look the ditz in the eye when she was thinking of those?!

"So...any idea of what Beacon is going to do for the Vytal festival?" asked Ruby, changing the subject.

"Ugh, do not _talk_ to me about that!" said Grace horrified.

Everyone looked at her oddly.

"Okay, what did the headmaster make you do this time?" asked Yang.

"You mean besides abuse the 'apprentice' thing like crazy? He put _me_ in charge of putting the festival together for the students! I have to organize everything on the student end!"

Yang blinked.

"You mean those weird polls in the cafeteria for suggestions..."

"Were my doing. I want to know what the students would like out of the festival, and the top three will be added even if I have to spike Uncle Ozpin's coffee to get it."

"Spike it how?"

"My preferred trick is hot sauce or decaff," admitted Grace.

"Nice," said Yang.

"Well why don't we help?" said Ruby.

"Wait, what?" said Weiss.

"Grace does so much as the voice of the students at Beacon, especially the faunus. Why don't we help put the festival together and give her a break?"

"Ruby, we don't have time to help set up festivals!"

"Actually there is a student council, but most of the students really hate the paperwork associated with it and it's generally been in disuse since I started acting as the voice of the students. It's barely functioning as is," said Grace

"...Really?"

"I'm so effective as the voice that they've been dumping most of the work on me," admitted Grace annoyed.

"That is... incredibly lazy," said Weiss frowning in annoyance.

Ruby eyed Weiss before an idea struck.

"Hey, how would your family react if they knew you were part of the council as a first year and was integral to setting up the festival?" asked Ruby.

Weiss' eyes gleamed.

"Winter never made student council her first year, or help set up a festival. I'm in. Besides, someone has to shoot down Ruby's more weird ideas," said Weiss.

"I'm in," said Yang.

Grace looked to Blake.

"Velvet is currently in the council and I know she's be happy for another voice for the faunus," said Grace.

"I'm in," said Blake.

It was hard to hide the fact you were a faunus when you were best friends with Grace. Fortunately she managed to get Weiss to back down when she found out.

Mostly by telling them they each had a single hit, and that it was a one-time only deal.

Weiss had gotten a spectacular black eye, and Blake had a broken nose. Sometimes the diplomatic method didn't work, and you had to descend to the level of the boys to get things done.

"Dear sweet Dust, what is this mess?!" cried Weiss.

"This would be the work load the current council dumps on me on a bi-weekly basis. Out of the current lot, the only one actually doing something is Velvet and that's mostly collecting the complaints or request of the faunus for me to sort through."

A massive board was on the back wall that held a number of complaints, suggestions and general comments. The digital screen even kept a counter, allowing Grace to find target areas and common problems.

There was even a list of problem students.

"How is there not a functioning council already in place dealing with the student half of the festival?"

"Laziness, mostly. It's easier to dump it on me than it is to do council paperwork on top of homework," said Grace tiredly.

"Are they okay with us taking over like this?" asked Blake.

"We're relieved. Most of us were more or less drafted by professor Goodwitch when she found out we had dumped the work on Grace. Having a proper council would help the student's worries a lot and give Grace some time off," said Velvet, her rabbit ears barely avoiding the top of the door frame.

"Hey Velvet. So no arguments from the current group?"

"Just be sure to include more than two first year teams in the current council or we'll look bad to the other schools."

"How about your team?" asked Yang.

"Too much paperwork for them," said Velvet, grimacing.

"Then your team will be the ones sounding out the students. Blake, you're with Velvet. Find out what the majority of the faunus would like and I'll make certain at least one of their suggestions is heard as the top three. Yang, you're in charge of drinks and foods. Nora, you'll come up with ideas for the sweets and prizes. Ren, Ruby, Weiss...you're all on paperwork duty with me. Jaune, Pyrrha, your in charge of finding out what games we're going to allow."

"Wow...she sure took charge really fast," said Yang.

"She does this a lot. Then again she does go to most of the Vale Council meetings so she's used to being able to cut through a lot of the arguing," said Velvet. She was already sending out a message to her team about the change in council.

"Isn't the festival months away?" asked Weiss.

"It's easier to get most of the basic paperwork done now than when it's almost here. Last time it was a total mess," said Velvet.

"We'll get into the nitty-gritty details when the festival is a month away," said Grace. "This is mostly hammering down the bare bones of the festival."

Which was games, food, prizes...most of this was best done months in advance and could be reused in other parties later. Grace had long made a system for festivals, large gatherings, and parties.

The thing was that the needs of the students had a habit of changing. So to keep track of the trends and make the students feel involved, the council set up polls and kept them open for everyone to see.

They had to log in with their student ID, they could only vote once, and they tried not to hide the decisions from them.


	7. Chapter 7

"I can't believe we pulled this off," said Yang, whimpering from all the paperwork. That on top of her homework was absolute torture.

On the plus side, her grades had never been higher.

"Here," said Grace.

Yang sniffed the air.

"Is that high grade dust-enhanced booze?"

"Stolen from your uncle this morning."

"Best. Middle. Sister. Ever," said Yang, hugging Grace as if she were Nora.

"Wait...is Grace your sister? I thought she was related to Professor Goodwitch?" said Weiss.

"We pretty much adopted Grace at Signal as our middle sister cause while she's good at the academic and huntress stuff, she's complete pants at being around large groups and enjoying herself. She has this weird habit of trying to dominate everyone," said Ruby.

"Ruby might be awkward, but Grace can be pretty... what's the word?" asked Yang.

"Serious?" asked Blake.

"Moody?" said Nora.

"Quiet?" offered Ren.

"Bossy?" said Pyrrha, mostly joking. If anyone was bossy it was Weiss.

"Dominatrix?" suggested Velvet.

"That's the one! She likes to take control of a group and lead them into boring things. I remember one of the girls actually tried to find whips and chains in her room," said Yang grinning.

"Really?" said Velvet, snickering.

"Did she find any?" joked Nora.

"Uh, no. But it was around that time she started bringing that weird riding crop weapon with her and disciplining the boys. I think she finally got over the grossness of puberty," said Yang.

"And like that, I'm confiscating this," said Grace, mock joking.

"But seriously, we pretty much adopted her as our sister when we found out she was raised by mostly students since her mom was too busy. She was a blast at parties," said Yang.

"You only say that because she always came to bail you out when you got too drunk," said Ruby.

"She also insisted on teaching me to drive," said Grace amused.

Grace was a bit more... restrained while driving Yang's motorcycle, but was still as much a speed junkie as the blond.

"So about that bottle."

Grace held it eye level with her.

"You did not get this from me and I did not liberate it from your Uncle Qrow if he asks."

"Deal. Come to momma."

"Hard to believe the strict disciplinarian of the first years has a klepto streak," said Weiss.

"We all have our quirks, this just falls in line with my prankster side," said Grace dignified.

"I don't see it," said Weiss. Grace seemed too...dignified for such a thing.

"Just wait. I'm going to see to it that Jaune leaves you alone once and for all by the end of the weekend."

"...I will seriously pay you if you can pull it off. Five thousand okay?" asked Weiss.

"Deal."

"Uh...should I be worried?" asked Jaune.

"Pyrrha should be," smirked Grace. The red head was suddenly very nervous.

* * *

"GRACE! LET ME OUT!" shouted Jaune.

He had been hijacked by a giggling Ruby and locked in a closet.

It felt like hours but had only been fourteen minutes... and a minute later a surprised Pyrrha was shoved into the closet with him.

"Neither of you are getting out until one of you confesses the truth!" Grace said before locking the door.

"Truth?"

"This isn't funny!" said Pyrrha nervously.

"Nuh-uh, the Invincible girl is either honest with her partner or else I'll do worse than you into the closet!" said Grace. "Also Nora and Ren have agreed to stand guard until one of you fesses up!"

She had bribed Nora with as many pancakes as she could eat for two days, and paid Ren off with his choice of a day off.

"So uh...any idea how to get out?"

"Grace stole my weapons," said Pyrrha blushing.

She was pressed rather close to her crush, after all.

"Grace, what are you doing?" asked the headmaster. Thank Oum, they were saved from Grace's weird ideas!

"Just giving Pyrrha a reason to stay alive in a fight and Jaune a very good reason to leave Weiss alone, uncle Ozpin."

"Normally I would stay out of my student's romantic lives, but if they confess within the first year I'll win the betting pool among the others," said Ozpin, with a slurp of his mug.

BETTING POOL?!

Pyrrha looked mortified and absolutely embarrassed. Was it really that obvious?

"You think Pyrrha is that forward enough to do the confessing, or Jaune observant enough to notice it?"

"No, I just know you too well to understand you'd never leave the two floundering about for very long. Coincidentally your mother is in on my bet," said Ozpin.

"...Seriously?" said Ren.

"Grace is the resident matchmaker of the school. If she thinks there's a serious possibility of a lasting relationship between students, she goes out of her way to lock them in closets or other ridiculous methods to get them to confess to each other."

Jaune winced. She sounded exactly like his sisters...all seven of them!

"So best of luck, and know whatever she bribed you with to stand guard will stand so long as I don't have to deal with the fallout," said Ozpin cheerfully, taking another sip of his mug.

Pyrrha would have face palmed, if she could.

"Uh...Pyrrha? What did Professor Ozpin mean by noticing the obvious or you being forward?" asked Jaune.

"Just...help me break down the door so I can get my revenge on Grace..." said Pyrrha.

"...Isn't Beacon constructed solely to absorb most attacks by Grimm and careless hunters?"

"They always cheap out on something."

 _Five minutes of attempted escape by Pyrrha later..._

Jaune stared at the door.

"That is one well constructed door."

Being stuck in a small enclosed space with Pyrrha (not to mention the somewhat enlightening conversation with the headmaster outside, and many, many memories of his sisters with similar matchmaking efforts...) had broadened Jaune's perception of his current situation enough that he had to ask something.

"Don't you have a bunch of guys chasing you already? I mean you're Pyrrha!"

"No, Jaune, I don't. My reputation and supposedly unobtainable status keeps them from even trying. I haven't connected with others in over four years."

"Wait, not once?" said Jaune shocked.

"You're the first person who didn't have some preconceived notion that I'm way out of your league, to the point you didn't even recognize me save from that silly cereal box."

Which had automatically endeared her to him, and it had only grown when she realized Jaune really didn't care about her reputation or fame. He was silly, clumsy and was only now learning how to be a hunter. By all rights someone like her would never train him to be better, much less fall for him. But she had.

Jaune stared at her, and she didn't really notice.

 _Does Pyrrha like me?_ He wondered.

He looked back and thought on all the little things Pyrrha did that she didn't have to. And on the many signs his sisters _insisted_ meant a girl liked a boy, when they weren't trying to be coy about it by attempting to keep them away.

He blushed rather heavily when he realized Pyrrha had shown a _lot_ of those telltale signs for a while now, but he had been too busy trying to talk to the Ice Queen to notice.

"Uh... Pyrrha? Do you like me? As in like me, like me?" he asked cautiously.

Pyrrha's attempts to break the door down and wreak her revenge on Grace paused. Her face was almost as red as his was.

 _Outside..._

Ren blinked, realizing that the thuds had stopped finally. He honestly hadn't thought the door was that well constructed. Then he looked closer and saw it had been reinforced.

Considering the enlightening conversation with Professor Ozpin about Grace being a notorious matchmaker, it made sense they'd have one reinforced for her 'efforts' to avoid having to pay numerous repair bills by embarrassed hunters/huntresses stuck there.

"You can let us out now," said an embarrassed Pyrrha's voice.

"So... did Uncle Ozpin and mom win the bet?" asked Grace, having put on headphones a while ago.

"It's a safe guess they did," said Pyrrha. "But if I were you Grace, I'd avoid being around me for a while."

Grace vanished while Ren opened the door.

"Pancakes!" said Nora.

 _The next morning..._

"Dear Oum, how can she _eat_ all that?" was the common thought on everyone's mind seeing Nora decimate a stack of pancakes as tall as she was. Ren looked horrified, but fortunately Grace had told him he could avoid class until Nora's pancake-induced sugar high went away.

He gladly vanished from Beacon for a few days.

Leaving Pyrrha and her new boyfriend Jaune to deal with the aftermath of a extra hyper Nora on the loose.

On an unrelated note, Weiss discreetly paid Grace off for getting Jaune with Pyrrha, since it meant he wouldn't bother her anymore.

* * *

Weiss stared at Grace from her spot by the window, her mind adrift rather than listen to Professor Port's rambling. Her mind went to the day Grace told them what her Semblance actually did, down to the part that worried the other hunters and huntresses. Most of her close friends had accepted it without bothering to think of the full ramification of such an ability.

Weiss, not so much. While she could accept Grace's Semblance, she felt uneasy about the fact her entire soul was laid bare to one person she was slowly growing to like. The only reason she didn't cut ties with Grace the day she realized the full implications of her Semblance...was because of her eyes.

Grace, after the first time of seeing Weiss down to the very core didn't look at her with pity, anger, or joy.

She completely accepted Weiss as she was, Ice Queen at all. She could understand Weiss from her point of view, and did not demand that she change all at once. Instead she was a pillar of support in a world surrounded by the storm of emotion.

As a result of this revelation, Weiss had noticed Grace wasn't as strong as she appeared. She might put on a good front, the best Weiss had ever seen in her life, but in that pillar were cracks.

The cracks of insecurity. Of fear that one day her friends and family would reject her for her Semblance and the all-exposing nature of it. The terror that one day all her training wouldn't be enough to protect her friends, family, and comrades from the forces that threatened to destroy them.

Weiss knew above all else Grace did not give a damn about the Schnee name. She barely tolerated her at first, giving her the chance to prove she wasn't her father's daughter. And Weiss had come out of it with flying colors when she accepted Blake's past as a former White Fang member. Grace's history as a supporter until five years ago.

She swore to herself when she realized the cracks in the pillar were there that she'd do everything in her power to keep them from shattering her.

That's what friends do, after all.

"Uh...Grace? Why are we out in the Emerald Forest?" asked Yang.

"Semblance training," said Grace.

"Semblance training? Why would we need to go all the way out here for... oh," said Blake, eyeing Grace.

Grace wasn't allowed to use her Semblance within Beacon's walls, unless the people she was around knew what it did.

She had more or less copied the Semblance of everyone on both RWBY, CVFY, and JNPR.

All of whom were good friends with her.

"So how do we do this?" asked Weiss, eyeing her surroundings with distaste.

"Long story short, we fight with only our Semblance and weapons, no dust. Coincidentally any Grimm that come near us are free targets to whoever gets to them first, and you can use Dust if you have to."

Yang looked eager for this. Every time she trained with Grace, her Semblance always found a new trick she could use later.

Weiss looked resigned, but did not voice a complaint.

They all took battle positions, as the best way Grace knew how to use her ability was in a battle royale.

At an unsung signal, the teams all converged on Grace, Sun and Neptune.

For a full half an hour they battled, using Semblance and unknowingly learning new tricks.

And then it happened. Something Weiss never thought would, but did anyway.

A new glyph was born, made from the fires of combat and fueled by the desperation to win.

It took Grace a few moments to identify what the glyph did, but once she registered it she immediately backed away from Weiss.

It was a summoning circle, one of the rarest tricks ever recorded because it called on aid from beyond Remnant.

The moment Weiss unlocked that rare gift...a faint stirring of memory tickled at the edge of Grace's mind.

She had seen that glyph before. Had been _in_ that glyph before.

A loud roar ripped through the landscape. A massive white shape with a frigid cold presence that could compare to the most terrible winters flew out of the growing glyph. Weiss stared at it, in shock and awe.

"Weiss! You need to assert your dominance on it or we're in big trouble!" shouted Grace.

"How?"

"Put your bossiness into an order and command that damn thing!"

The beast looped around the group, who had circled up in the presence of a threat. All the Grimm in the area had vanished rather quickly.

Weiss looked at Grace, who had her business expression on. This was serious.

She took a deep breath and put her full Schnee personality in her voice. Every ounce of authority she had in her body behind her words.

This was the command of the Ice Queen of Beacon (oh how she hated that nickname) and she _would_ be obeyed or else.

"I command you to appear before me!"

The beast slowed it's flight around them, before making a thunderous landing. It was _massive_.

It had feathery wings, imperial looking horns, and highly intelligent eyes.

Weiss did not back down. She was too terrified to.

 _ **Are you the one who dared to summon me?**_

"I am the one who summoned you, great beast, though it was unintentional," said Weiss, drawing on Grace's calm presence.

The dragon, for it could be no other creature, looked around it with open disinterest.

 _ **The summoning was sloppy and not at all up to the standards I expect from one who would command me. If you do not wish to be eaten, little human, then do it better next time. And I had better not be summoned to grandstand**_ **,** said the dragon.

"Yes, great beast," said Weiss diplomatically. She'd ask Grace what she thought it meant once it left.

 _ **Until then, practice with this one. He is in need of someone with a much firmer hand then I care to deal with,**_ said the dragon, and a smaller summoning circle appeared...and with it a tiny dragonet that zipped around like Nora did on a sugar high.

The beast took off, nearly flattening them all, and disappeared into a similar circle, only big enough to fit it's bulk.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Yang.

"Weiss apparently entered into a summoning contract with an ice dragon clan, one that was bored enough to agree to it despite the fact she had no idea what she was doing," said Grace.

"...Seriously?" said Blake.

"Well from what I've read on the subject, the older the greater summons are, the more bored they get. I think the dragon was bored enough to let Weiss join their contract just so he'd get some interesting action. Though I wouldn't summon him a second time unless you had something well beyond your ability to kill. Like a greater Grimm for instance," said Grace.

Everyone shuddered at the idea of fighting a kingdom killer like the greater Grimms. The ones so old that it was damn near impossible to kill them.

Weiss looked at the buzzing dragonet. It was about the size of a small dog, but it's wings were moving like a hummingbird's. It also seemed to zip around much like Nora did around fresh syrup.

She could already feel a headache coming on.

"Well go on."

"Go on what?" asked Weiss, tired and exhausted beyond belief.

"You have to give it a name. That the great beast summoned one of it's hatchlings means it intends for you to have it as a familiar to practice summoning with so you aren't so sloppy next time."

"...Is it a boy or girl?"

"For all we know it could change genders," said Grace.

Seeing how the sun scattered a prism of colors around the clearing off the dragonet's body, Weiss went for the simple name.

"Diamond Dust."

The newly named Diamond fluttered and landed on Weiss' shoulder, purring. Now that it had stopped buzzing around, they could get a better look at it's wings.

It was like someone had carved pure ice into a pair of realistic feathered wings and stuck them onto the body. The way they moved suggested they were much like a bird's, only much colder and more sturdy. It had a muzzle full of small, but very sharp fangs, and it's scales were like pearls. It had tiny, sharp talons that were only just clutching onto Weiss' jacket. The tail ended in a point, but when agitated ice crystals could form a variety of shapes at the end.

The entire thing was about the size of Ruby and Yang's dog Zwei, just much more lizard like and fanged.

Yang suddenly realized something.

"Hey Grace, you copy people's ability, right?"

"Yes, Yang, I could possibly summon something on my own. But I think having to be around _one_ great beast is enough for a week, and I know Mom is going to be really unhappy when she finds out about Diamond for the moment."

Weiss winced.

"Relax. Beacon does allow pets and familiars so long as they can handle being in Grimm infested territory without making a nuisance of themselves."

"Really?" said Ruby, almost eagerly.

"Let me put it this way... some of the older hunters and huntresses get bored enough during retirement to train animals to fight with them. So Uncle Ozpin put in a clause that allows animals within reason," said Grace.

Ruby's eyes sparkled.

"Does that mean we can ask dad to send Zwei?" she asked.

"If your dog can handle combat zones and not get killed, then I don't see why not so long as the paperwork is filed."

"YAY!"


	8. Chapter 8

People clamored to meet Diamond Dust...and to a lesser extent Zwei who came in the mail of all things... the moment they were allowed out in public. Most had never seen a familiar, and many more were surprised they were allowed to keep pets in the dorms so long as a few rules were followed.

Diamond Dust put up with it as long as Weiss did. It had all the personality of a friendly cat, but much more interesting.

The first time someone annoyed it too much though, it let it's displeasure known in a very dramatic fashion.

It spat tiny shards of ice needles at people, before curling around Weiss' neck like a scarf.

Zwei had to follow Team RWBY through a short training mission in Forever Fall to replenish their dwindling syrup supply before he was given full permission to stay.

For obvious reasons, Team JNPR was banned from that mission. At least until they could contain their more...hyper...teammate from eating all the collected syrup.

* * *

 _Three weeks until second semester..._

"I'm telling you, I don't like the idea of removing the human/faunus factor from battles. Yes death is tragic, but that's no reason to rely on machines," said Grace heatedly to her uncle. They were in his office, discussing the recent council meeting.

It was just fortunate Ozpin _wasn't_ in charge of the local police, or he'd have an even bigger headache from the string of robberies.

"Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about the mechanized soldiers Ironwood insists on bringing with him," said Ozpin tiredly.

"You can't, but I can. I've been experimenting with energy Dust and I might be able to take them out of the equation entirely, along with those blasted Paladins of his. I don't care what he claims they're for, they're an eyesore and I know for a fact that some of them have been stolen."

The second she heard of those monstrosities, she had her faunus friends keep an eye out from trouble. Those in the White Fang had warned her that some had been stolen by the once peaceful group and re-purposed.

That news would only end in tears as far as she was concerned.

"What are you up to?"

"...It's better you claim plausible deniability for later. Let's just say it'll only effect Dust-powered machines within a certain area."

She had been experimenting with a Dust Empowered Pulse with her Aura amplifying the effect. Using some scrolls and some random tech no one would find out went missing long enough to be hit with the blast, she had effectively rendered their servers useless from a massive overload.

(Think EMP, only using Dust and aura instead of a magnetic blast.)

Among the carnage was a smattering of Ironwood's precious mechanized soldiers, the old ones. Carefully removed from the official server to avoid him finding out what she was doing.

Their targeting system and movement matrix always ended up beyond fried when she used her attack. Scrolls usually needed a quick reboot before they could be used again, and most of the other machines had to send for replacement parts.

But the soldiers, the ones she specifically targeted with the blast...they were ruined as fighters.

All save the ones turned off. They were only slightly damaged but still a potential problem.

The only things safe from the blast were organics (I/E hunters and huntresses who were annoyed that their scrolls were in need of maintenance) and Grimm.

And to think, she had only made this attack in response to the news that an entire contingent of Paladins had been stolen by the White Fang.

"Just be careful. Your mother would have my head if she knew I let you experiment with something dangerous and got killed from lack of supervision."

"It's only dangerous to technology."

* * *

 _Two weeks until second semester..._

Grace was out on a mission with her mother when it happened. One minute she was fighting Grimm in an extermination mission in a failed expansion to Vale, the next the ground collapsed around her.

"Grace!" yelled Glynda.

She rushed to the area her daughter fell in, but even she could see Grace hadn't had time to grab a ledge long enough to drop to safe ground. There was a sheer drop where the attempted underground city was...the hole had collapsed between several supporting skyscrapers.

It was deep enough that even a hunter would have one hell of a time avoiding serious injury with their Aura protecting them.

"Grace..." whispered Glynda horrified.

"What is it mom?"

Glynda's eyes widened as she tried to find her daughter, but came up empty. Then she noticed an unusual shadow around her and looked up.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Uh, mom? Why do you look so freaked?"

"Wings."

Grace blinked before trying to see what she meant. Her attempts had her twirling midair, before she realized she was _flying_.

"What... I thought my Semblance was Rogue?" she said in confusion. These wings were clearly made of her aura...and they felt like a Semblance should. At least according to all the books she read anyway.

"For now can you get down?"

"I'll try mom."

It took Grace two hours to figure out a way down, and that was by holding on to the exposed beams of one of the buildings and 'climbing' down while her wings were still active. The moment her mother hugged her (Glynda noting the wings were warm, but not hot) they sputtered and vanished.

The second they did, Grace felt exhausted...another sign of a recently awakened Semblance.

"We need to talk to Ozpin."

Her mother's tone broke no arguments, not that Grace would have given any.

 _At Beacon..._

"So you spontaneously created fire wings?" said Ozpin with a sip of his coffee.

Grace nodded, before remembering the sensation. Bright, fiery wings sprang from her back, almost like she was a faunus.

Ozpin observed her new appendages, casually poking at them. Grace didn't really feel him when he did, but could sense his presence enough to know what he was likely doing.

"Well?" demanded Glynda.

"It would appear we were wrong about her Semblance. Either that or it's manifesting another way because of the restrictions she places on it."

"What."

Ozpin sipped from his mug again, before explaining.

"You said she fell into a hole between underground skyscrapers, correct? And that she had kept her Semblance on a tight leash the entire mission?"

Glynda glared at him.

"Explain. What is happening to Grace?"

Ozpin took another drink, before he considered the ramification of what he was about to tell Glynda and Grace.

"It seems her Semblance isn't the Rogue after all. Grace has magic...a lot of it, if she can manifest wings in response to a deadly fall."

Seeing they didn't get it, Ozpin elaborated.

"The truly powerful hunters and huntresses have a secondary aura. A legendary source many claim are mere myths in this day and age. This aura is called Magic. I'm sure you've heard all the tales of hunters killing a Great Grimm, and surviving."

"What are you saying?" asked Glynda tightly.

"I'm saying that the 'Rogue' Semblance isn't a Semblance of all, but a manifestation of the rare magic Aura. It also means she's going to need a new teacher, since her fire wings are only a small part in her secondary aura trying to break free."

"I'm not going to have to leave Beacon, am I?"

"No, but I will be having a talk with someone who will not be happy to see me to give you a crash course in your overdue training."

Because Grace wasn't the first magical to have somehow end up on Remnant, or become a hunter.

* * *

 _At a random bar in Vacuo..._

"What do you want Ozpin?" said a tired voice, drinking something strong.

"I have a possible magical girl in my school, one with a lot of it if her manifestation of wings is any indication. I was hoping to bribe you with a free pass to Vale if you were interested in training her."

"What's in it for me?"

"Here's the payment upon completion of her magical training."

"Tempting. But I don't want some snot nosed teenager who thinks they know everything or is occupied by boys and female things," said the man, annoyed.

"This particular one is far from the typical teenage female. In fact she is rather serious about her studies and will listen to instruction. One does not enter into the advanced classes at Beacon in their first year unless they take their potential job seriously," said Ozpin.

"Might be worth my time. I'll come and see if she's worth training...if not, well, I'm sure there are plenty of things to keep me occupied in Vale," said the man.

"I assure you, it will be... Regulus."

* * *

 _One week before second semester..._

"I'm here, Uncle Ozpin. You wanted to see me?"

"Ah yes, Grace. I would like you to meet your prospective magical teacher. This is Regulus Black."

Regulus had storm gray eyes, short black hair, and a very outdated fashion sense. He had a broadsword with a revolver chamber much like Weiss' had, and an old fashioned crest on the blade. His emblem was a silver snake's head.

Regulus walked around Grace, who was well used to this sort of inspection. She held herself straight, kept her head high and eyes forward. Her scroll was neatly placed in the holder on her left side, while her ammunition pouch was on her right. Storm's Embrace was in it's holster much like Ruby's Crescent Rose normally was in an easy to reach position on her back. The 'hilt' of her blade was facing her right side and was loosely attached to the sheathe to ensure an easy draw from the holder. Her glasses and hair were neat and clean.

All in all she presented herself as a serious huntress who took her job with the attention it demanded.

"Hmm... well she is definitely more attentive than the last bunch you tried to have me train."

Ozpin said nothing.

"Alright girlie, let's go and see what you can do."

"I can't. I'm restricted from using my Semblance around others who are unaware of my ability," said Grace firmly.

"You'll have to go to the Emerald Forest or Forever Fall if you want her to use it. She's been very good at not using her Semblance where the unaware could see it."

"And how has her magic manifested that they put a restriction on it?" he asked.

"Her Semblance has been declared a 'Rogue'. The simple explanation is that she can 'copy' or 'acquire' the Semblance of others as if it were her own. The not-so simple answer is that she can 'read' the souls of others to the point she gets their memories and synchronizes with them enough that she can use their Semblance."

Regulus blinked, before he looked at her oddly.

"You can copy other people's abilities?"

"Yes, it's why I've trained myself not to use my Semblance unless necessary," she said flatly.

His expression went rather...strange.

"I want you to focus on an image of a person. It doesn't have to be someone in the room. I want you to try and change one feature of yourself to resemble that person."

Grace blinked. She didn't bother to ask why, because there had to be a reason for it.

So she concentrated on her mother's hair color. It had always been a rather vexing fact that her mother was a blond and she had been stuck with red hair that refused to take to hair dyes.

She had tried to turn it into a blond when she was younger, but the next morning the streaky hair had gone back to red, to her annoyance.

Ozpin was shocked when her bright red hair, which he had always likened to fire when the sun hit it, turned into a familiar shade of blond.

"I thought as much," said Regulus, nodding to himself.

"What?" said Ozpin, looking at him.

"The girl is a metamorph, a gift that has passed down in my family. Tell me, how was she found?"

Most magicals were either born to someone who had appeared without any explanation in Remnant, or were brought here by an unseen force.

"Glynda found her in Grimm infested territory when she was three."

Regulus nodded to himself again.

"It's _possible_ she's related to my family. She has the right features to have come from my homeland, and now that I think about it, her red hair and green eyes do look like someone I vaguely remember from school. She could be that woman's daughter."

It was hard not to remember Lily Evans, not when your annoying older brother was hanging around your third cousin who insisted on pursuing her, blood purity be damned.

The more he observed this Grace, the more he could see familiar features in her face.

She had Evan's red hair and green eyes, and Potter's pale skin, nose and bearing. But the quiet dignity and unspoken dominate nature...that had to be her adopted mother's influence.

The question was, why would James and Lily's daughter be here in Remnant, and not back home on Earth? He couldn't see either of them putting her in enough life-threatening danger to cause a reverse summoning spell here.

And he _had_ looked into what caused the sudden transport between worlds.

"What does this mean?" asked Ozpin.

"I have a way to see memories. I want to confirm she is who I think she could be. If so, then I'll have a lot more to teach her in a much shorter time."

Regulus had a long polished stick, lovingly cared for in the hilt of his sword. He also had an odd bowl with strange symbols all over it. Inside the bowl was a silvery substance.

"I'm going to press my wand against your temple. I want you to focus on the earliest memory you can think of, preferably before you were adopted by your mother. I will attempt to draw it out so we can find out why you were sent here."

Grace concentrated. But the specific memory escaped her. She had been very young and didn't really _want_ to remember her time before her mother found her. She would try though, as she hated disappointing her teachers.

Slowly, Regulus formed a proper stream of memories and pooled them into the bowl.

Grace was exhausted when they were done.

Regulus waited for her to recover, before he took her and her mother into the memory. Glynda had just enough magic that she could use the bowl, but she was little more than a hedgewitch.

* * *

 _Inside the memory..._

Grace looked around. It felt so familiar, but only in the vaguest sense. It was a warm home full of life and love. The theme of the place seemed to be red and gold, with little lions everywhere.

There were three people, though their faces weren't very distinct and were very hazy. Clearly the memory of a small child.

Regulus looked at the man with the long hair and the feel of a prankster.

He sighed.

"I knew it. You are their daughter."

"Who are they?" asked Glynda.

"That one is my older brother Sirius. He is James Potter. And she is Lily Evans...and if Grace is any indication, James' wife."

The memory sped forward. This one was unusually sharp for a small child.

There was the sound of wood exploding inward. Likely the front door.

" _Lily! Run!"_

" _James!"_

The memory was inside a child's crib, inside the nursery. Obviously Grace was woken up by the sudden explosion downstairs. The door opened, and a slightly more defined memory of Lily ran in, terrified and crying. She chanted something they couldn't catch in a language Regulus recognized as Latin, or the bastard version spells used. A glyph formed under the crib. The door exploded inward, and Regulus scowled. He knew Voldemort anywhere.

" _Stand aside foolish girl!"_

" _No! Not my daughter!"_

" _Avada Kedevra!"_

Lily fell to the ground, dead. Voldemort turned his wand on Grace, presumably. He cast the same spell, and there was a bright flash of light that knocked the crib over.

Grace obviously passed out for some time but was awoken by arguing. Sirius was holding Grace, and his features were much more defined than they were before, and she could vaguely see a large man with a beard.

"Hagrid. I wonder why he's there. I highly doubt they told him where they lived...the man could never keep a secret."

The view changed, as Grace was clearly flying. You could see bits and pieces of someone driving a loud motorcycle, but what bothered Regulus most was the fact it was Hagrid driving it. He distinctly remembered his brother enchanting a flying motorcycle, so why did Sirius loan it to Hagrid and where was he taking the infant Grace?

If Regulus was more than slightly suspicious before, he was livid when he figured out what happened.

"Oh that son of a..."

"A-hem!" said Glynda. Regulus continued to swear in his native tongue about senile headmasters with obvious agendas.

The rest of the memories were downright depressing and very vivid. Outright abuse, neglect and open hatred to all things magic. It made Regulus furious beyond belief.

"Well?" asked Glynda, once they were ejected.

"Her accidental magic latched onto the first thing it could find to get her out of a bad home life she should have never been in. If and when we return to England I'm going to chew that old bastard out like you wouldn't believe. Leaving an honored daughter of the Ancient and Noble House of Black in a place where magic is hated to that extent is unforgivable."

Any child who inherited the metamorph gene was considered an 'honored' child. Especially one with as much magic as Grace obviously had, if she was able to teleport between worlds before she was even seven!

"So I take it you'll train her?"

"My mother would kill me in my sleep if I didn't train a member of the house of Black when no other teachers are available, especially in the family history," said Regulus. And he knew a bit of the history behind the Potter family, so he could cover it as well.


	9. Chapter 9

"FOOD FIGHT!" someone shouted when food starting flying between Team RWBY and Team JNPR.

"I call RWBY!" said Grace loudly, laughing as she used Yang as a human shield.

What happened next was absolute chaos. Food was turned into makeshift weapons. Drinks took place of Dust attacks. The entire place was turned into a battlezone.

Grace was cackling as she used her mother's telepathy to send food flying at her friends.

It didn't end until Ruby used her Semblance to send JNPR flying into the wall, covered in food and drinks.

Grace looked vaguely sheepish as her mother stormed in and set the tables and chairs right.

"Children please! Do not play with your food!"

Glynda briefly glanced at her daughter, but said nothing. It was rare for Grace to act her age, and disciplining her would only send the wrong message.

Then she spotted her cousin (confirmed via a DNA test) slash teacher. While it was nice knowing who her parents were (and finding out they weren't as cold-hearted as she initially assumed) finding out the real reason you were found in a Grimm-infested area malnourished and in such deplorable conditions was not exactly comforting.

Grace almost winced. But he had an amused grin on his face so she relaxed.

"Isn't that your teacher?" said Yang.

"And my cousin on my dad's side, apparently."

"Wait... I thought your family left you?" asked Blake.

"Apparently my parents were killed by a mass murderer, and my aunt treated me like the Schnee company treats the faunus to the point my semblance transported me out of there. No offense Weiss."

"None taken," sighed the heiress.

Even she admitted her father went too far with his treatment of the faunus.

"So you have family in Remnant?"

"He's agreed to train me in how to properly use my aura, since apparently I have a rare one."

Yang grinned evilly.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about that smile of yours?" asked Grace.

"Because I just had the perfect idea of what to do with out last free day."

Emulating her mother a little was fine, but Grace's wardrobe was a bit...mature.. for a sixteen year old girl. So much so Yang despaired of her having any party clothes.

"I'm sensing shopping," said Weiss.

"I prefer the term fashion intervention," said Yang grinning, looking right at Grace.

"Wait, what?"

"I agree. Do you even have any dresses for the dance in a few weeks?" asked Blake.

"I have a perfectly acceptable dress!"

"Girls, I do believe an investigation is warranted to see what Grace thinks is an acceptable dress!" declared Yang.

Grace felt afraid. She felt very, very afraid.

* * *

 _An hour later..._

"Yang, put me down!"

"No way girl! We are giving that closet of yours a long overdue overhaul!" said Yang cheerfully, having hijacked Grace and carrying her over her shoulder like a bag of potatoes.

Grace spotted her possible salvation.

"Professor Black, a little help?"

"Not a chance in hell. Only a complete moron would get between a teenage girl and a shopping trip for clothes," deadpanned Regulus.

"There will be no escape," said Pyrrha far too cheerfully.

"This is revenge for shoving you and your boyfriend into that reinforced closet last month, isn't it?"

"Why would you think that?" said Pyrrha, not denying it in the least.

Grace looked at Nora.

"I was promised pancake flavored ice cream," she said, eyes gleaming.

"Doom," agreed Ruby, her eyes holding a similar expression. She had been promised cookies and cream ice cream.

 _In town..._

"Oh my gosh, what about this one? It suits your hair color perfectly!" said Nora cheerfully.

It was a strapless dress that was a brilliant shade of burgundy that would suit Grace's red hair.

"I think this would suit her better," said Weiss critically.

It was a dark red color that was clearly held up via a few straps around the neck. It was a nice contrast with Grace's red hair, and didn't overwhelm the senses.

"Why not both?" said Yang cheerfully.

"Have you seen the price tag?" said Blake.

"That's because it's got a very low amount of Dust in the cloth," said Grace. She knew that shimmer anywhere.

"Seriously?"

"Why did you think the store is called _To Dust or Glory_?" said Grace.

"I thought it was a clever play on words or something..." mumbled Yang.

"If by clever you mean the fact they switched the word 'death' for 'Dust'," said Grace dryly. She eyed the price tag. "I've been meaning to get a new battle armor anyway, since my current ones are almost scraps."

She bought the one Weiss had found, and the one Nora had picked up.

Now she just had to update her daily wear. Her currently wardrobe was getting a bit tight around the chest, to her annoyance.

 _A bit further in the mall..._

"Holy...these prices are cheap! How did you know about this place Grace?"

"Who do you think supplies me with the shirts, pants and underthings I give the orphans? They give me their surplus stock at a discount price, and I go to them first for supplies every month."

Kids were always outgrowing their clothes, so she was always delivering a new set to the orphans who would pass down the outfits that were still in good condition to the younger kids.

Yang eyed the racks speculatively. She could use a few new outfits herself.

Even Weiss found something she liked, though she had hit _To Dust or Glory_ a bit harder for a blue dress that had a light amount of ice Dust embedded in the cloth.

"So where to next?" asked Pyrrha.

"Used bookstore," said Grace. Blake perked up at that.

"Ice cream!" declared Nora.

"Books first, ice cream second. If we go there first you and Ruby will run us out of lien before we do anything else," said Grace firmly.

"Agreed," said Weiss.

That, and Grace knew that the kitchens had a massive stock of ice cream and the way to break into the freezer to get some for bribes.

Well, it was less breaking in and more Ozpin bribing _her_ to raid the freezer rather than take that time of the month out on him. Her and her mother.

It was a rather satisfactory day for everyone, even if Grace now had to figure out what to do with her old clothes.

* * *

Grace carefully hid her annoyance upon seeing Ironwood. She had _never_ liked the man, even when she was a child. The reason for it was rather simple, and had nothing to do with the distaste her mother had for his machines.

Ironwood had been one of the strongest supporters of either curtailing her dreams of becoming a first rate huntress, or worse, finding some way to harness her rare and terrifying Semblance into something they could use to replace humans in the fight against the Grimm.

Which might sound great on paper and to the leaders of the four countries had it not been for one very obvious fact.

If Ironwood had his way she would become nothing more than a lab rat and taken away from her mother. And that was something that really turned her opinion against the man in a permanent way. It was hard to like someone who would stop at nothing to destroy your family.

Thankfully her uncle Ozpin shut that down, hard. By the time her Semblance was recognized for what it was, her mother had firmly adopted her into the family as her daughter. There was no way she would ever allow anyone to turn her child into some lab rat to experiment on.

Grace was positively arctic in her greeting of the man, and left the room with her mother once the niceties had been observed. If Ironwood noticed the chilly reception, he said nothing.

"She's still angry over it?"

"Both of them are. I wouldn't press your luck, and Grace has only gotten more... efficient...when it comes to dealing with unwanted advances."

Most of the boys (and some of the girls) had given it up as a lost cause until Grace's hormones kicked in and she showed interest first.

Those that tried and failed...well, they served as warnings to everyone else.

* * *

The night Grace ran into the woman called Cinder would go down in the history of Beacon.

Not that she really knew it at the time, but the second Grace saw Cinder Fall, something clicked in her head.

This was the woman who had haunted her dreams for years. The eyes were identical, the form and figure a perfect match. And there was this sense of malevolent intent coming from the woman, even as she passed Ruby and Grace in the halls.

Then the moment passed, and Grace had to hold back a shiver.

That was _horrible_.

The next day marked a change in Grace. Namely the fact she stepped up her training, even going so far as to take missions well outside the city with some of the graduated faunus to master her actual Semblance and the odd effect of her magic mixing so thoroughly with her Aura.

Her "Rogue" Semblance was the result of her magic and her aura merging. More specifically her ability to shift into other people.

Her actual Semblance (which Ozpin was quick to change the records to, so she could use it in class now that her magic was being more or less contained with proper training) was a tribute to her support of the Faunus Cause for Equality, as she liked to call it.

Unknown to Grace, there was a discreet movement made up of former White Fang members who disliked the way the current group was getting things done made up of faunus and faunus sympathizers...mostly the human partners of faunus hunters and huntresses. It was mostly talks, but there was a growing movement that was planning to take up where the White Fang had dropped the ball when they turned violent.

Blake and Velvet was well aware of it, but had yet to tell Grace about the "FCE".

FCE would collect donations, and go to orphanages and other areas where the faunus were living in horrible conditions like the slums and then do something about it. They handed out free clothes, food, water, and would organize an entire week dedicated to fixing things like broken windows and small repairs to make the living conditions more livable, and at the same time spreading the truth about Faunus to the more ignorant populations. They were mostly spreading pamphlets to schools and daycares for human children to read made of bright colors and playful images.

It already showed a vast improvement in Vale, leading to a decrease of faunus crimes, even if the opinion was slow to change.

And if asked, the faunus would immediately point to Grace as the "founder" of the FCE, since she was the one to first start organizing trips to local orphanages and got the faunus hunters and their partners hooked on small steps instead of the public protests the White Fang tried.

Ozpin didn't mention it because he wanted to be there when Grace finally found out what her actions caused completely by accident.

Grace's increased training regimen did not go unnoticed by her friends. She wouldn't be this worried for the games later. No, she _knew_ something big was about to happen, and wanted to be ready.

Even Jaune was infected with her sudden increase of training.

Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY got together to train harder in secret, both in preparation for the tournament and for whatever was about to hit them.

* * *

The first time Grace met Penny, she knew right away the girl wasn't human, faunus or even biological. It had nothing to do with her appearance...she looked like any other huntress.

No, it had to do with the odd 'sense' she had around the girl that said she was lacking the tiny magical pulse that came from an aura that said the thing was alive.

Ironwood had allowed the two to meet to see if he could fool even the "super senses" of Grace Goodwitch.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Penny. Ruby certainly seemed enthusiastic of making a new friend from another school. So do you run on Lightning Dust or is it one of Ironwood's little projects?"

Seeing his face made her day, and a small vindictive part of her took pleasure in his annoyance at being caught out so easily.

Penny blinked.

"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against androids or cyborgs joining hunters or huntresses in the battlefield. As far as I'm concerned, you're just another huntress that could potentially have my back. I'm just curious why you're trying to hide the fact you've successful managed to mimic a young huntress in training and haven't told anyone," she said to Ironwood.

"I am combat ready!" replied Penny. Inwardly, her synapses were in overdrive with happiness that someone as professional as Grace called her a fellow huntress, despite being a machine.

"I have no doubt you would be, considering he was involved."

Ironwood looked very irritated, but went ahead with his real reason for approaching Grace with his creation.

There were going to be times when partners would go out in the field for combat experience on missions. He knew for a fact Grace _had_ no partner, as she was listed as "apprentice" and mostly acted as filler for teams missing a member in Beacon.

He wanted someone competent to assess Penny in the field, one who wouldn't have a bias or expectation and hopefully disguise the fact one of his 'students' was a machine.

Grace heard him out, and agreed to take Penny on as temporary partner in a "show of good faith between schools". They wouldn't team up during the tournament, but it meant a smaller risk of Penny getting loose again and sending his men on a wild goose chase because she wanted to look around. Grace was competent, highly responsible, and knew how to keep her mouth shut about things the adults didn't want discussed.

If she wasn't, then Ozpin wouldn't bring her to council meetings all the time and let her discreetly make the decision on his behalf, despite being only sixteen.

That done, Penny and Grace went to find team RWBY, since they were planning an unauthorized night off from school.

If they wanted to avoid getting a month of detention, they would need Grace around to make it _look_ legitimate.

 _Several hours later..._

Penny eyed the machine being manned by Roman Torchwick, and mentally made a note to warn her "father" that some of their new Paladins had been seized by the White Fang. They needed to be warned that some majorly bad PR was possible if the Paladins were being used by the White Fang.

Especially since Blake and Sun had gone into a White Fang rally and Roman had blatantly claimed to have an entire battalion of the things.


	10. Chapter 10

Penny found Grace a bit...odd.

The red head was unlike any human she had interacted with before. Despite knowing Penny wasn't entirely...alive...she still treated her the same as every other huntress she spoke with. Penny found it fascinating the way she managed to juggle being the student council president (or the de facto one at least), visiting the orphanages once or twice a month to see if they needed more supplies, being a student in the advanced courses offered for those who could handle the much larger workload, her very extensive training regimen which would leave most teenagers passed out in bed if they tried to keep it up for more than a month, and her lessons with Headmaster Ozpin.

And in spite of it all, she managed to maintain a normal student life on the side through some rather bizarre and almost terrifying schedules. Everything was scheduled until classes and other known events were over, and the rest was left "open".

More than that was the way Grace treated Penny when they were in the field. Like a trusted friend.

It was...different. Not bad, but different.

It took all of an hour for Penny to decide she liked Grace as a friend, in the same vein she liked Ruby as a friend. They didn't care about _what_ she was, just who she was.

"SOOOO CUTE!"

Ruby was holding a small black dog with the most adorable eyes. He barked happily from his spot in her arms.

"Who or what is that?" asked Penny, curious.

"His name is Zwei, Ruby and Yang's dog. She got permission to keep him in the dorm as long as he isn't a hindrance in field missions and didn't disturb the class he was in. Weiss is allowed to keep Diamond for much the same reason, though I think Blake would prefer Diamond to Zwei."

"Why?" asked Penny.

"Dogs freak her out."

"Ohhhh...because she's a kitty?" asked Penny.

Grace had a mischievous look on her face.

"I know the _perfect_ way to take her mind off Zwei being so close."

"What?" asked Penny, curious.

Grace reached into her bag that sat neatly below her weapon, and pulled something out. Blake sniffed the air, as did a few others. Grace tossed it in the air, and Blake caught it and began 'pawing' at it a bit.

"Okay, what did you just toss to her?" said Yang, very amused and definitely trying not to laugh her ass off at the way Blake was suddenly acting.

"Catnip."

"Catnip?" said Yang twitching.

"It's either that or a laser pointer, and I know for a fact Diamond would end up getting involved too," said Grace with a straight face.

Yang lost it. She started cracking up, making multiple plans for future pranks. Then she considered something.

"Wait, how do you know Blake likes catnip?"

"...I may or may not have laced her clothes shortly after we met when she was being particularly grumpy to get her to lighten up. I've never seen that idiot laugh so hard in my life."

Blake growled, also remembering that time with Adam. He had damn near choked on his drink when he found out what Grace had done.

Yang snorted with laughter.

"This coming from the girl who has an obsession with shiny objects and treacle dessert?" said Blake.

Grace stuck her tongue out.

"I just like molasses," said Grace. Then she glared at Nora for some reason. "Of course I've had to defend my stash from a certain sugar menace."

Nora whistled innocently, but Ren sighed and face palmed.

"My lost desserts will be avenged Valkyrie!"

"Bring it on, Goodwitch!" cackled Nora.

"Are such declarations normal?" asked Penny.

"Nope," said Yang, popping the 'p' sound.

"Grace is being silly, like the time she trapped Jaune and Pyrrha in the closet for close to three hours until they admitted they liked each other," said Ruby giggling.

"Thank you for reminding me of that," said Pyrrha, before she did something very out of character.

She took a banana pie off the table, held it out of Nora's sneaking grasp...and with perfect aim threw it at Grace who barely managed to duck in time, thus having it land on Sun who was walking up to see what the fuss was about.

Neptune didn't need to be psychic to see what was about to happen.

He made a beeline for the doors before Grace twitched and reached for the milk.

Sun was too busy grinning as he also realized what was about to happen in the next few seconds.

"Me, Penny and Sun against RWBY and JNPR?" she asked.

"You're on," agreed Pyrrha.

"FOOD FIGHT!" declared Nora loudly as Grace threw the milk in their general direction.

The chaos was unimaginable.

"What is the purpose of this...food fight?" asked Penny, ducking a flying turkey.

"Fun, but also a bit of payback for locking them in the closet for three hours. Besides..." said Grace, reaching down for the ketchup and mustard, and aimed in the general direction of Emerald and her partner.

They didn't see the projectile condiments until it hit them. They barely avoided the proceeding food.

Neither of them were happy with being hit, but then again they worked with that woman so Grace didn't particularly care.

"I'm Queen of the Castle!" cheered Nora, standing on multiple tables.

"Not for long you're not!" said Grace, grinning. She threw Nora's weakness into the air.

Fresh syrup from Forever Fall.

Nora's eyes narrowed in on her target, and she went right after the partially open jars.

"Nora, look out!" Ren called.

Nora was hit from behind with two partially melted containers of ice cream. Why they were there was a mystery, but the effect was immediate.

"Nora's out!" cheered Yang...only to be nailed with two bottles of honey. Her hair was totally soaked with it. Her eyes went red.

"At least Zwei is having fun, as is Diamond," said Sun.

Zwei was having a blast, though he and Diamond were too busy running between the flying food and biting random food out of the air to eat it.

"Bad Zwei, no turkey! You know those bones are bad for you," scolded Ruby.

"What is going on here?" demanded Professor Goodwitch.

Grace, displaying an unusual amount of sixth sense, dragged Penny out of the cafeteria before her mother showed up and busted her.

"Oh crap," said Yang.

* * *

 _With Grace and Penny_...

"Why did we leave so suddenly?"

"I know my mother. The second she finds out there's a food fight it takes her exactly fifteen to seventeen minutes before she can cross from her class to the cafeteria. Anyone caught in the middle of a proper fight will have to clean up the mess once she rights the tables that Nora messed up. Which gives us ample time to shower off the worst of it," said Grace.

"Why?"

"If we make it look like we weren't there, then we reduce the risk of being dragged into clean up as punishment."

"I would ask how you know this, but I know for a fact you're the instigator in some of our more...memorable incidents," said Ozpin.

This wasn't the first time a spontaneous food fight started with Grace in the area, and it wouldn't be the last.

"Any chance we could reach the showers before mom busts us?" asked Grace.

"Try the ones closest to the lockers. She won't think to look there first," said Ozpin, sipping his coffee.

Translation: Get cleaned up and finish the student council paperwork before she busts you.

Ozpin was fine with a little mischief. It meant that things were never boring.

Grace and Penny washed off enough of the food mess and went straight to the student council rooms, where they got to work on the paperwork.

By the time Glynda finally let the others go from the massive clean up, they had made some major headway.

"You suck. How did you know she'd be there that fast?" said Yang, collapsing on the table.

Grace smirked.

"Not my first food fight."

Yang blinked, as did Weiss.

"Wait...you're telling us you've set off a food fight before?" said Weiss, shocked.

Grace smirked.

"I may act mature, but when my mischievous side kicks in, all bets are off. I learned early how long it took for the authority figures to show up by a few harmless pranks and how to avoid the fall out. Uncle Ozpin doesn't mind because my chaos has a habit of improving morale and it's harmless fun. Besides, Pyrrha totally started that fight."

"...She does have a point. Pyrrha did throw the first pie," said Ruby.

"What is the purpose of a food fight?" asked Penny, tilting her head.

"Recon and mock warfare," said Grace.

The others blinked.

"Really?" said Ruby.

"I did a lot of recon when I timed how long it took my mother to get to the cafeteria, as well as how everyone used the mock warfare to determine what their fighting styles were. For example, Mercury and Emerald are far too skilled to actually be students. I think they came to spy on the Academy and the best students of the other schools by coming in as students. The only reason I was able to hit them with condiments was because the intent was wrong and they weren't actually paying attention," said Grace.

"You sure don't like Emerald or Mercury," said Blake.

"I don't like Cinder either. Something about them seems off, and I don't like the vibe I get from any of them. Besides...a friend of mine was recently murdered, and those two were the last ones to enter his store."

Tusken was one of her best suppliers for children's books and was a main distributor of pamphlets explaining to children about faunus and why having a few extra appendages did not make them very different at all.

She had learned of his death, and had immediately hacked into the security cameras around the area to find out who killed him. Needless to say the second she recognized the people on the video, she went looking into their background stories.

She found more holes than Jaune's application forms into Beacon. It wasn't that their applications were as wonky as his...but more that they were too good and Grace wasn't afraid to ask her friends from before she was made an "official" student of Beacon to do some digging of her own.

And they came up with absolutely _nothing_. No one remembered the trio, including the people who they claimed had backed them.

More than that, when she went looking into the security videos of when her mother ran into Ruby during the Dust robbery, there was a figure that looked far too much like Cinder for it to be a coincidence.

"What if you're just being paranoid?" asked Yang.

"It's not paranoia if something is actually up. Why are the White Fang collecting all that Dust and not promoting Faunus equality like they claim? Why are they working with a human thief in the first place? Why would several of Ironwood's mechanical Paladins be stolen by the White Fang and no one know about it? It all reeks of a set up for something big and quite possibly unpleasant for everyone."

Everyone stared at Grace.

"I would say you're overreacting, but I agree something definitely doesn't add up. There are too many little pieces that don't fit," said Blake.

When Grace put it like that, it did reek of a major attack on Vale. The real question was how do they prepare for it without tipping off the major players that someone was on to them?

"So if there is an attack coming, what do we do to prepare?" asked Velvet, having caught the last bit.

"I can make a few minor changes no one will look twice at. If we know something big is coming, then we can make our own counter attack before they realize someone is on to them. The main thing we need to do is discreetly spread word not to let those three see what we can really do among those we can trust."

"What about me?" asked Penny, curious.

"Well if they want to attack and spread as much chaos as they can through Vale, what are the major target areas?" said Grace sensibly, having already thought this out.

"Hospitals, places to get weapons and armor, training facilities like Beacon or Signal..." listed Weiss.

"They've already hit the stores that supply things like Dust to hunters and huntresses, raising prices and limiting the supply in Vale," said Grace, writing it down on the board with a stylus-pen.

"They will likely use it in an attack to destroy it and keep it from enemy hands," supplied Penny. Grace shot her an approving look. She made a note of it on the side, because it was only logical to set the Dust off, thus causing _more_ panic and damage AND keeping it from the hands of Hunters.

"They've infiltrated Beacon when the more talented and powerful hunters are in the area and not likely to have their guard up," said Blake.

"Which means they'll strike here the hardest if possible, or have simultaneous attacks," said Velvet.

"Or the trio was sent in to deal with us while the bulk of the main forces will attack the rest of Beacon," said Grace.

It was the best reason she could come up with for why three powerful fighters like Cinder, Mercury and Emerald would be sent in as students. They could discreetly take out the best fighters among the students and sabotage the teachers.

"Don't forget communication," added a voice only Grace would recognize.

"Who are you?" said Penny.

"Professor Black, Grace's personal teacher for her rather unique Semblance since it's been restricted among those not already in the know. I've lived through a war before, and one of the things they're going to target is communication."

Weiss immediately thought to the communication's tower in the town.

"They'll need to disable the towers."

"They won't blow it up, too early and the military will anticipate something bigger later."

"If they're really preparing for war, they could always disable it internally through a hack," offered Penny.

"Isn't there security measures for that sort of thing?" asked Ruby, hopelessly confused.

"There's always a bigger Grimm," quoted Grace. "And to be honest, _I_ could hack the communications tower."

More to the point, she had hacked it once before by mistake right before she hit play on one of her favorite songs.

She hadn't known what it was she had gotten into until dinner when the news came on about a "mystery hacker" playing that song five times before it stopped just as suddenly as it began.

Ozpin never said anything but he still knew damn well it was her...

"So... we need to secure medical supplies, something to deal with the inevitable mobs trying to escape danger, stock up on Dust, and deal with a possible internal intrusion in the towers that will disable communications," summed up Regulus.

"We can deal with the medical supplies," said Blake and Velvet at the same time.

"How?" asked Yang.

"The orphanages. No one will expect there to be enough first aid kits and the professional kits to be in the orphanages. The same goes for the mobs," said Grace.

Everyone looked at her oddly.

"Paint. Children can get into places adults can't, and if something bad happens they can paint the way for the adults following. Green for safe, red for danger. If they see a cluster of Grimm in an area, they can splash paint, alerting anyone in the area. Simple, and easy to recognize for anyone panicking," said Grace.

The kids would love it, because who didn't love playing with paint?

"And the Dust?" asked Weiss.

"I can't speak for the rest of the hunters, but I have the Dust issue covered as well," said Grace. "No one will think twice about me buying in bulk, because I'm notorious for somehow losing my Dust cartridges soon after buying them."

"Yeah...or we could exploit Weiss' father without him finding out," said Blake darkly.

"How?" demanded Weiss.

"Tell him you need some extra supplies to experiment with, or to show up a faunus. His hatred of us might be enough to get him not to ask why you need it," deadpanned Velvet.

"No. I would like to avoid a reputation that I hate faunus as much as he does if the operator happened to share that detail," said Weiss without hesitation.

"Well there is one option, but I really don't want it getting back to me. Uncle Ozpin barely let me get away that one time I did it by accident..." said Grace sheepishly.

Regulus sighed.

"Or you could place a large order, make it look like it was fully paid for, and I'll deliver the massive stash of Dust someplace we can easily get to if Beacon is attacked and we're forced to leave," he said flatly.

"Well whatever we do, it has to be done before the Vytal festival. It's a safe bet that's when they'll hit. There will be plenty of people, everyone will be thinking of the festival and be completely unprepared for an attack," said Grace.

Penny couldn't help but wonder if she should warn Ironwood. Except her programming also reminded her she had no idea _who_ was compromised if they were right. He might discuss it with someone over the tower communications and accidentally alert the Enemy.

Grace had the right idea for something like this. A counter attack worked best when keeping things quiet, close to chest and done discreetly enough that the Enemy didn't know you were on to them.

She would keep her silence until the situation demanded that she tell her "father".


	11. Chapter 11

Grace was out training with Regulus when she decided to test out the glyph she had copied off Weiss when she first summoned the greater frost dragon.

Regulus had her hold the glyph long enough for him to get a good picture of it. Summoning spells were rare, and he had some knack to glyphs. Apparently it was something all magical-born hunters who had their aura unlocked could do. For those who came through from "Earth", their glyphs were determined by their personality and power levels.

As a half blood from a distinguished line, Grace was naturally very powerful. The fact she had the metamorph ability meant her glyph set was more versatile.

Regulus couldn't wait to see what sort of familiar she got from this.

Grace let her aura determine what to drag through the realms. What she got completely threw her for a loop though.

It was blue. It looked like a koala with weird spikes coming out of it's back and six legs, rather than four, with two antenna on it's head. It had a short, stubby tail and highly intelligent eyes that looked around intently.

In short, it looked more like some weird form of dog than anything that would require the amount of magic she put into the summons.

That lasted for exactly ten minutes, when Regulus started cursing out the furry pest (who retracted the 'spikes', the middle legs/hands, and the antenna to look like a weird dog with blue fur and long rabbit-like ears) stole his left shoe.

Grace took one look at Regulus, then at the grinning menace and smirked.

"You live for chaos, don't you?"

The thing tilted it's head and grinned at her evilly.

"We're going to get along perfectly. However we need to properly prepare for our chaos so our victims don't get wise and suspect us first. Now, do you have a name?"

" _I called Six-Two-Six,"_ the creature responded in rough, but thankfully understandable English.

"That sounds far too much like an impersonal designation for an experiment. From now on your name is Stitch."

The newly designated Stitch wagged his stubby tail, grinning evilly. He also climbed onto her shoulder, grinning at Regulus who was still missing his left shoe. The gray eyed man glared at the thing.

"Alright, I'm going to try my luck at summoning. Just keep that pest away from me!"

Regulus would summon something he called a "runespoor". Apparently it was some sort of three headed snake from their world. He was very startled finding out she could speak snake.

She didn't get what the big deal about this "parseltongue" was or why he cared. All she knew was that he had forbidden her from using it if they reached their world in public. Something about the "dark lord" Regulus served before he realized the truth.

* * *

"What in Oum's name is _that_?" asked Weiss, eyeing Stitch oddly.

"You got Diamond, I got Stitch. He's surprisingly useful, even if he can't stand large bodies of water," said Grace.

She learned that after seeing the looks he shot the ocean when they flew back to Beacon. Apparently his near-indestructible nature didn't include being able to float very well.

But the odd blue "dog" was damn near bomb proof, if the way he had swallowed the Dust crystal Regulus threw at him in the hopes of blowing him up were any indication, and after seeing him hack Regulus' scroll while the man was asleep to leave some nasty surprises, had the brainpower of a supercomputer.

She promptly bribed Stitch to deal with any and all budget issues in the student council and the academy.

She was tolerable at maths, but trying to budget the larger number of expenses for the school (Ozpin claimed it was good training for when she took over for him... she knew he was only half joking) gave her migraines the likes Oum had never seen.

She _hated_ math. It was a necessary evil, but not one she would do unless it was unavoidable.

It was rather ironic, as most would assume she was a natural at doing math considering her hacking skills, and she did have some talent at the harder equations.

Talent and skill did not equate enjoyment. It just meant she had a natural knack for the art.

The blue "dog" looked at Weiss and wagged his tail.

" _My name Stitch. I is familiar,"_ he said proudly. He _loved_ having Grace as a partner.

Once you got past her "strict" mask she put on that made her seem as disciplined and mature as her mother, there was the mind of a demon bent purely on harmless chaos and mischief that had the experience for some truly epic pranks! She was disciplined enough to hide her true nature from the authorities, but she could come up with some really creative havoc when she put her mind to it. And because of her mask, no one would realize she plotted each prank to the point she could calculate how long it took for the authority figures to get to the scene of the crime so she could avoid the blame.

She was also really good at finding just the right spots to make his back legs go nuts...

Weiss stared at him, then at Grace.

"...I'm not going to ask."

"Probably best."

Stitch had found the perfect spot on Grace's shoulder, since she didn't mind if he sat there. It was rather hard for him to keep up with her fast pace of walking, even the rare times she wore heels.

Most of the time she wore decorative sandals that were specially designed for huntresses who liked to look fashionable while still retaining the proper functionality for rough terrain. Not everyone was as insane as Weiss was, to wear high heeled shoes.

"So he's the familiar you summoned using the glyph you copied off me?"

"If it makes you feel any better, Professor Black got a three headed snake that likes to cuss him out because he's not warm enough and won't share body heat," quipped Grace. Seeing the white-haired girl's look, she shrugged, "Apparently I can speak snake, the regular kind. Not sure why, and it's not particularly useful."

Weiss shuddered. Snakes were disgusting.

Stitch tugged her sleeve. Grace handed him her spare Scroll, and he promptly began playing "Angry Grimm".

The game was a weird brain child of a bored hunter. The goal of the game was to destroy the 'wood and glass' structures to make the Grimm fall to their death. You had to use some sort of weird sniper-weapon that launched different Dust types at the structure, and the effects varied depending on the way the Dust was shaped. It taught young hunters to take trajectory into account, was highly addicting, and was relatively cheap to buy upgrades for.

Stitch was currently trying to beat her high score, which she would unashamedly admit to cheating for. Hacker skills FTW!

( _"Angry Grimm"_ is basically 'Angry Birds', with the Dust taking place of the birds and the Grimm the pigs.)

"That is so beyond weird I can't find the proper words to describe it."

"At least it keeps him from stealing everyone's left shoe and then clogging the toilets of Ironwood's ship again."

"What?"

"Nothing," said Grace, a little too innocently.

Stitch had followed Penny to Ironwood's massive ship, stolen every left shoe in the place, and then somehow managed to flush them down the toilet, causing the septic system to almost burst onto the unlucky people below. He also messed with the electrical systems of the ship, thus causing merry hell with the controls.

You had to turn on the light to open the door, and hit the button to open the door in order to flush the toilet. It was chaos on a rather impressive scale and it was going to take ages to unscramble the commands.

Ozpin had been impressed. Fortunately he had discovered "Stitch" had a similar addiction to coffee and thus bribed him with a supply of his own brew in exchange for never unleashing that sort of chaos on the school.

Stealing the shoes was fine, messing with the plumbing was not.

Stitch now had his own mug, complete with the insignia of Beacon, and there had been some doubletakes when he took a sip of his coffee at the same time as Ozpin.

Needless to say Grace had been endlessly amused by this sight.

"So who are you taking to the ball?"

"No idea. Boys are too terrified of me to ask, and I've never had a proper... say Weiss, you haven't got a date have you?"

Weiss blinked twice before she cottoned on.

"Seriously?"

"Why not? At least we know the other can dance and not step on our toes, and it means Stitch can go with Diamond."

Weiss mentally thought of her dragon and the odd 'dog' Grace had summoned dancing. It was a weird image.

"I was planning to ask Neptune actually."

"Be my date to the ball and I'll talk him into dancing with you," said Grace.

"No bribes, and you have a deal."

Grace smiled.

She was glad to have a date to the ball and not have to worry about being too "scary" for the boys.

Honestly, guys were such wimps at her age...

* * *

Grace enjoyed the dance, and more to the point so did Weiss. Having a date that wouldn't step on your toes made it much more enjoyable all around, even if they had to get over the weird image of Jaune in a dress because of some silly declaration he made to Pyrrha.

And no, he would not get all the photos Grace had Stitch take of that image on her scroll. She was too busy laughing her ass off at the sight, because if he had a bigger chest he might actually look _good_ in a dress.

At least Pyrrha wasn't surprised by Jaune's ability to dance. It was how Grace had been training him from the start after all.

However the night wasn't all fun and games.

Ruby had followed someone from the dance to the communication's tower, only to come up empty. However they had been near one of the consoles long enough to upload something, since it took her a minute or two to get up to the area.

Grace was very, very happy Regulus had mentioned that problem, and that she had hacked into the internal network with Stitch's help and placed a "quarantine" program before the ball.

It was rather innocuous and not something that would come up on the weekly inspection of the network. The core of the program was beautiful in it's simplicity.

If something entered the network via an external source, then it would be "quarantined" from the main programming and an alert would be sent to Grace's scroll in a discreet way. If it contained malicious script, she could move it to another network where it wouldn't do nearly as much damage.

Grace's scroll alerted her to the program after the dance, when she got finished making sure Ruby hadn't seen the figure properly.

The second she recognized what it did, she moved the script someplace where it could do limited damage.

Namely she hacked Ironwood's mechanical army and rewrote part of the script to shut the machines down or at least cause them to target each other if the script went active.

She only really liked Penny, out of Ironwood's creations.

She almost wished she could see Cinder's face when the machines turned on each other, rather than the tower going dark.

* * *

"I would ask why we're heading to a secured, anonymous location, but even I know better," said Grace. Her tone and posture was all business.

Glynda was nothing if not a role model for crisp professionalism. Even her familiar was alert, wary, but otherwise silent.

Compared to the likes of someone like Ruby, Grace was a model for other huntresses.

"We have an unexpected visitor. They were attacked and the guard barely managed to get her in time to make contact. I don't need to tell you the gravity of why I brought you along," said Ozpin, his playful demeanor gone. Even his cup was missing, which was another major sign.

It took Grace a few moments to catch on to what he wasn't saying.

"...April or July?"

"October," he replied, catching her quick code with ease.

"Heal or replace?"

"We're hoping to leave the second as a last resort only."

This was serious. If one of the Maidens was that close to death, then of course they would need to have a replacement handy just in case. The last thing they needed was for the Fall Maiden to fall into the wrong hands, especially when someone was tracking them down.

Whoever hurt Amber might have stolen some of her power, so having Grace take on what was left would be a contingency plan.

There cannot be two Maidens with the same power. She would have to take out whoever hurt Amber to the point of death to reclaim it.

"Who's the guard?"

"If we have to go for our last resort, Penny will be assigned as your permanent official guard, with Qrow acting as your contact. He was rather reluctant to bring you in."

Grace was her mother's daughter, and she found out by accident about the maidens.

She had been maintaining a strict secrecy for years since they found out what her Semblance mixed a healthy dose of her untrained magic could do. She had the clearance to know things most people didn't have an inkling to since she was eleven.

The fact she had a reputation for fighting without using her Semblance meant she would have a slightly easier time hiding the Fall Maiden's powers, if it came down to it, as was the fact she was close to the current defenders.

No one would question it if they found out, unless they had the rest of the Fall Maiden's powers... in which case they would be swiftly dealt with. Possibly in a very _painful_ manner.

Grace and Stitch followed Ozpin in silence. What they found had her reaching for Storm's Embrace with a sincere desire to unleash it on whoever did this to the woman in the stasis capsule.

Amber had been nice to her, the one time they had briefly met. She knew Ozpin liked to share photos of his "minion" to his friends. Even if he was her Uncle, Ozpin was the closest thing to a father she had ever had.

Grace could tell just by being this close Amber was too far gone to be saved.

He didn't need to be told, and Qrow was very pissed off.

If they found the one who did this, there would be absolutely no mercy.

As gently as they could, especially since she was doped up with enough painkillers to almost kill someone in their sleep, Amber was woken up.

Grace could feel when the Fall Maiden's power passed on to her, or what was left of it after Amber was viciously attacked.

Considering the official "origin" story of the power, Grace knew the moment it did that the story, while edited for public consumption, wasn't that far off. Except it was missing quite a few things that apparently weren't passed down.

She had a sneaking suspicion she knew _why_ people from Earth kept finding themselves in Remnant.

No one spoke as they left the room. Qrow quietly grieving for the fallen Maiden.

* * *

"Alright brat, spill. What the hell happened to your core? I can feel a massive boost and you haven't even charged up your spells yet," said Regulus the second she entered the room.

Ozpin shared a nod with her.

"Remember that story you shared of how Merlin and his wife disappeared one day after Arthur fell?"

Regulus blinked.

Merlin and Nimue had left for Avalon, supposedly, after the fall of Camelot and were never seen since. Many had set out to find the lost land of magic, and generally it was considered a story to share to the children. Much like the Tale of the Three Brothers.

There was some speculation about the fact that they hid because Nimue was pregnant, but no one ever clarified if that was true.

"I think I know why magicals keep ending up in Remnant."

Regulus heard her theory, and was silent for a solid ten minutes. Then he started swearing.

"You don't agree with me?" she asked, dismayed.

"No, that's the problem. I _do_ agree with you. It makes far too much sense if Merlin ripped open a hole and was unable to close it properly. And now that you mention it, it is equally possible that these 'Maidens' are in fact his daughters, or at least their magic passed down to acceptable recipients. Even if only some of them are fully able to use their magical gifts."

"As fascinating as this is, could you clarify it to those not from your particular background?" asked Ozpin. Nearby, a very unhappy Qrow stood waiting.

"Long story short, there are some families who can pass their magical inheritance to people not of the bloodline so long as certain conditions are met. It wouldn't surprise me if Merlin or Nimue were one of them. These... Maidens, could very well be their descendants. Which means I'm going to have to switch up her magical training from the basics to the Sorcerer level shit."

He suddenly grinned viciously.

"Which means she's about to get a crash course in rituals, arithimancy and runes. As well as how to properly channel large amounts of magic without it blowing up in her face."

Grace had an annoyed look. She hated math. Then she looked at Stitch and said "Is it acceptable to learn how to channel my familiar bond instead?"

Regulus snorted.

"That pain in the ass is magical enough that you can let him handle the filtering aspect, and possibly most of the mathematical formulas you're going to need. At least once a proper telekinetic bond is formed. He's about to get some major upgrades, so I'd advise getting him started on basic weapons training now. It'll be easier if he can learn to bleed off the excess safely through Dust rounds. They take a lot of power before they go off."

Stitch perked up at that.

" _Stitch know how to shoot. Can handle four guns,"_ he announced proudly.

"Wonderful, her pet dog is a sniper," said Qrow.

"Stitch, you work with Headmaster Ironwood on getting you properly outfitted with weapons. I'll work with Penny since it seems we'll be partners for the foreseeable future," said Grace. She was already starting to create a mind link with him, this just meant they had to ramp up the schedule a bit.

And best of all, most would mistake any powers attributed to the Fall Maiden as a side effect of her Rogue Semblance copying it, once they found who stole the other half.


	12. Chapter 12

Grace was doing a basic routine to check the defenses of the school when she found it. Perhaps it was because of the new addition of the Fall Maiden's powers, or it could have been fate.

But she found a Rift that lead into a place she had only heard of through Regulus' descriptions of it.

Diagon Alley, straight into Gringotts.

She immediately contacted Regulus and Ozpin. If this was a Rift, then they'd need to find out how to secure it and see if it was a two-way street.

Regulus, once he saw what she had found, held his breath.

"It's a Rift. An unstable one, but a Rift all the same."

Grace could feel her magic reach out to it. She was following more on instinct than knowledge as she took Storm's Embrace and used it like a focus. Her eyes were already displaying the usual signs of an Active Maiden using their magic.

Ozpin went to ask what she was doing, but Regulus shut him up before he said a word. This was the Old Magic, from back when most of it was done without the structure of wands.

With movements much like a dance, Grace used her magic to stabilize and solidify the Rift. The fractures around the rift started to form a stable portal, until with a snap, an active doorway was created.

Grace fell to one knee, gasping from exhaustion. Her Rogue Semblance memorized the 'feel' of the portal to the point she _knew_ she could create one with a bit of time to charge up the necessary magical cost.

"Sleep, little sorceress," said Regulus. She passed out in his arms.

"What do we do about...this?" asked Ozpin looking at the portal with concern. Regulus looked around, before creating a fake boulder and a magic suppressing seal on it.

"That should hold it, so long as no one comes this far into the forest anytime soon with active magic. I'll test the portal later...if I'm right we can visit Earth and set a lot of things straight, and possibly help get that stupid communications tech up in the sky for once."

If there was one thing that annoyed him, it was the crappy signal strength because the damn Grimm kept targeting the relay towers in the rural areas. The only reason they didn't have an orbiting system was because Dust stopped working once it left the atmosphere. Magic didn't have that limitation, or if it did, he knew that it could at least be programmed to 'launch' the relays past the atmosphere. It was much more versatile than Dust-enhanced technology.

Besides, his mother might not have approved of it, but Regulus was perfectly aware that muggles had been in space before and survived. Ergo they had the means and knowledge to get the relays up in orbit. They just needed to adjust a few things to run on magic.

* * *

The return of the two Blacks to Earth was not met with fanfare, which suited them both just fine. Regulus hated crowds, and Grace had no patience for false adulation.

But the second they entered the bank (very early in the morning on Earth, one must add) all sorts of shrill alarms went off, and the goblins were quick to shuffle the few brave early risers out of the bank before moving Grace and Regulus firmly into the inner reaches.

"Well this is new," said Regulus dryly.

The goblin glared at him.

A much older, far more important goblin entered and gave both of them a foul look. Likely for dragging him away from his breakfast or waking him up in general.

"I don't know how you two set off those particular alarms, but if this is some sort of scam to get into _those_ vaults you'll be in for a much worse punishment than we normally give to thieves."

Grace's expression went from distantly pleasant to the same one she had when dealing with Ironwood.

It was her "I don't particularly like you, nor do I expect to get along with you, but for the sake of this meeting I'll be civil and not attempt to strangle you."

It was the same one she intended to use if she ever met Weiss' father in person. She could get along amicably well with Winter, but the head of the Schnee family would never get a warm welcome from her.

The goblins seemed to pick up on her civil, if somewhat frosty expression and oddly enough seemed to relax around it. How strange.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I only brought her here to claim the vaults I know belong to her by birthright and conquest, not bother to steal from you. If I wanted to be that suicidal I wouldn't have brought her to Gringotts so damn early and alerted the press to our coming," said Regulus flatly.

"Name?"

"Regulus Black."

"Regulus Black was declared dead over a decade ago," said the goblin curtly.

"I can prove it, unless you wish to barter this for a blood inquiry," said Regulus flatly.

He pulled out a very low-grade Dust crystal, one that was meant for small children to learn how to use Dust properly.

The goblin stared at it.

"That will be more than sufficient for payment into a blood inquiry," said the goblin with a shaky voice.

Well this certainly opened up new avenues for gouging the Goblins out of some gold if they refused to cooperate...or better yet the Ministry.

Within a few moments, both Grace and Regulus took similar tests on their bloodline. Needless to say it was nice for Regulus to have his suspicions about her heritage firmly confirmed once and for all.

Even if she refused to go by anything other than Grace Goodwitch.

She also several vaults Regulus had no idea even existed.

"Let me get this straight. Some asshole spreads the word about how she 'defeated' that idiot Voldemort as an infant and now they're paying her _tribute_ yearly because of it? And not _one_ of the Family bothered to inquire on her living conditions or her placement?" said Regulus with horrified incredulity.

No way in _hell_ should the heiress of the Black family have been left with those damn muggles. Half-blood or not, the fact Sirius firmly shifted the title of heir to his goddaughter/cousin right down to the damn paperwork being filed, should have meant that he older members of the Family track the girl down so she knew how to shoulder the responsibility as the future head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.

And that wasn't getting into the fact that most of the people in Magical England were damn sheep. Someone should have checked in on her long before she ended up in Remnant in the first place!

The more he heard, the angrier he became. Not only had the Ministry regularly tried to claim the vaults by claiming that the girl had been rendered a "squib" because of her actions (they were mostly basing it on the fact that even though a letter was written out for her five years ago, she never came to Hogwarts or appeared to claim her vaults), but he saw clear attempts by Headmaster Dumbledore in trying to locate her by force.

And that was _before_ he found out about his elder brother's false imprisonment because of Peter Pettigrew, who Regulus knew damn well was a Death Eater like he used to be.

Thank Oum for Dust-powered tattoo removal. It had hurt like a bitch, but it had completely destroyed the tacky tattoo to the point the spells were ruined.

"What about these vaults?" asked Grace, changing the subject smoothly.

"These are the inheritances left to anyone who bears the mark of Nimue. While you have an incomplete inheritance, the fact you have any of it at all suggests you may be qualified. There are rituals you can enact to properly claim it, though they were banned by the Ministry."

"I don't care, we'll pay whatever is necessary to have the requirements filled to use it. The one who has the rest of it used line theft to take it by force," said Regulus flatly.

"...In that case we'll give you a discount."

Goblins hated the idea of Line Theft. It made their accounting more difficult than it needed to be.

It would take several hours and a lot of headaches as Regulus went through the process of freeing up Grace from Dumbledore's pitiful attempts to reclaim her.

Regulus had already warned her about Voldemort's lies, so the only real threat she had to deal with was the political mechanations of the Ministry and the old man who acted as the 'shepherd' of the sheep people. And no, he wasn't being insulting to the sheep faunus.

Most of the magical community acted more like sheep than the sheep faunus did on their worst days!

It would be late into the next morning when they were finally able to return, and Regulus quickly discovered one fact that was somewhat unsettling to him.

Even though he could now come back to his home country if he wanted, he found that he disliked it too much to do so. The sheer amount of backstabbing and bullshit they had to deal with was ridiculous. At least in Remnant he was free to be his own person without the stigma of being from Hogwarts to haunt him. They didn't care if he was a Slytherin, or a former Death Eater. He was a Hunter and that was all that mattered.

It was a rather sobering revelation that he considered Remnant his home before he considered England.

At least he was able to free Kreacher from the stupidity of his older brother. The sheer amount of damage his mother did to the loyal elf was staggering, and Sirius had never liked him to begin with. Kreacher was practically sobbing with relief learning he was alive, and that he still wanted the elf around.

Finding out that the necklace had not been destroyed...though not through lack of trying...was annoying. Learning Dumbledore had taken over Grimmauld place really pissed him off.

If he wanted to deal with the shitstorm that would come of evicting the Order from his home, he would have done it in a heart beat.

Instead he settled on the Slytherin method of being a complete bastard. In other words he locked his brother and anyone with Black blood inside the ancient house and kicked everyone who didn't have it onto the streets by having Grace activate the war wards.

That ought to piss the old man off and confuse everyone.

Let it never be said Regulus wasn't above a good prank.

* * *

 _In Beacon..._

"Well?"

"I am never complaining about the stupidity of the Council again," said Grace with a groan.

Ozpin winced.

"That bad?"

"Worse. There sheer amount of paperwork I had to go through to make it very clear I have no intention of being their puppet and freeing up my bank accounts was horrifying. And then came the registration as a 'sorceress' and having to memorize a list of things I need to do to forcibly reclaim the power stolen from Amber, and the less said about how much back log in accounting I'm going to have to do to straighten out my bank accounts because of illegal withdrawals the better," groaned Grace.

She was so shoving that onto Stitch, who happened to _like_ math.

Ozpin was halfway through a sip before he choked.

"Wait, did you just say that you have a way of forcibly reclaiming the Fall Maiden's powers?" he repeated in disbelief.

"Apparently what happened to Amber qualifies as 'Line Theft', since it wasn't done normally. Ergo the magic that the Maiden carries can be reclaimed via a ritual that has to be done on the full moon with a list of ingredients and the hope that the old magic will acknowledge theft has occurred and return it to the one who's _supposed_ to have it. Since Amber transferred what was left of her power into me before she died, which is the proper way of acquiring it, that means whoever stole it is going to be in for a very nasty shock soon," said Grace.

"...I'll help Stitch sort out your bank accounts to a more manageable level, you get ready to reclaim the title of the Fall Maiden. The sooner it's out of the hands of Amber's attacker, the better off we'll all be in the long run," said Ozpin, his voice dead serious. This wasn't the laid back headmaster of Beacon, this was the voice of the man he had been before taking the post.

This was the voice of a senior Hunter who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty if it meant doing what needed to be done. The man Ironwood respected as a commander.

Grace nodded, but planned on getting a much needed nap in first.

She was going to need all the energy she had if she wanted to do this properly.

* * *

Cinder Fall had a bad feeling, but could not place what it was. It had started recently, and every instinct in her was screaming that there was something big about to happen that would not be beneficial to the plan in the least. Far from it.

And the worst part was that the event would affect her the most, and not in a good way.

It was the 'full' moon, or as close as it got on Remnant. It started with a weird tugging sensation she _thought_ was her period starting. But then it became a painful, ripping sensation somewhere in her stomach and chest.

Cinder nearly collapsed onto the table, and she heard her lackeys cry out in surprise. Emerald was the only one that showed actual concern. Mercury was more interested in what she could give him, and only followed her because she could kill him at any time.

The pain was _excruciating_. Worse than anything she had ever felt.

With a loud cry, she almost passed out from it.

"Cinder!" said Emerald, staring at her in horrified shock.

After what felt like several hours (but was in fact only half an hour) the pain slowly abated, but did not dissipate. Instead it lingered. Oddly, there was a sharp twinge in her back and several other areas and her face felt like it had taken a nasty fall on the pavement in certain areas.

It wasn't until she looked in the mirror and her eyes focused that she realized something.

Her face looked _exactly_ like the previous Fall Maiden's did after she attacked her. And now that she thought about it, the pain in her body was consistent to what she remembered of their attacks on the woman.

Moving felt like a monumental task in itself, and when she reached for the Maiden's power, her eyes went wide open in horror and disbelief.

The power was gone. All that was left was a sinister void and merely brushing up against it sent sharp shocks into her Aura. Almost like a warning.

"What's going on?" asked Mercury.

"The Maiden's power is gone."

"What."

Cinder grimaced. There was no way the protectors of the Maidens would ignore her new look. In fact it was practically a signal flare she was in on the attack on the Fall Maiden.

* * *

 _Outside Beacon Academy..._

Grace felt a surge of magic hit her like a giant Nevermore. It wasn't pain, nor was it pleasure, but a sense of _power_. It felt like she was becoming complete, as if a piece of her was returning to it's rightful place.

Qrow, Ozpin, her mother Glynda, Ironwood, Penny, Winter and Regulus watched in silence as she forcibly reclaimed the part of the Fall Maiden's power that had been stolen.

Under normal circumstances, Winter wouldn't have been sworn in on this particular secret. However they had needed a seventh person to stand in the circle for the maximum effect and Ironwood trusted her more than anyone else he brought with him.

Regulus was just amazed Penny counted, since she wasn't actually alive in the normal sense.

Normally after a major ritual like this, the one using it would have collapsed. But Grace was positively brimming with energy now.

"I'm guessing it worked," said Qrow dryly.

"Whoever stole the power originally is going to be marked in an obvious way. We can track whoever did it through security cameras, if they don't try to erase the evidence first," said Regulus.

"Hence why I had Stitch recording every one leaving the academy grounds on a separate server. Even if they delete the original recordings they can't delete the copy. And if that fails, he can always use my scroll to take a picture with the camera," said Grace.

"Your eyes are still overflowing," said Regulus.

It was a harmless safety measure to insure that the Maiden didn't get killed from an oversurge of power. The power itself would 'bleed' out by the markings around her eyes and vent the excess.

Three hours later, they had faces to Amber's attackers.

"I knew they had something to do with it," said Grace darkly.

"Who is it?"

"Mercury and Emerald, the two people who were the last to enter when a friend of mine was murdered in his own shop."

"Legally there is nothing I can do to have them arrested," said Ozpin.

"But...?" said Qrow, knowing that tone in his voice.

"But nothing said I can't have the resident hacker ruin their day and send Hunters after them," said Ozpin.

"You mean that blue dog thing?" said Qrow.

"Not exactly."

Like iron filings to a magnet, everyone turned to look at Grace. She looked rather smug.

"I hate math, but I enjoy hacking," she said by way of explanation. More than a few bullies in Beacon found their personal scrolls hacked.

"I can think of a few things," said Grace smiling in a way that made the teachers in them wince.


End file.
